The Thing: Human Nature
by N7angel
Summary: The Things are willing to do just about anything to get what they want. But not all is as it seems, and one isn't sure what it wants. Faced with hard choices, an unlikely alliance is formed between a Thing and Kate Lloyd. AU
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: **_**Okay, so I'm giving the Things a more intelligent, "personal" side – I'm individualizing them and giving each one (almost each one) its own personality. Also, some of the creatures are relatively "good" while others stay true to the movies and will rip your head off then take over your body. Their complexity will all be explained.  
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_**One other thing, this takes place during **_**The Thing 2011**_**, but I've put my own spin on it so it's AUish.**_

_**To avoid confusion, any reference to the Things – they, we, them, their, and whatnot – will be Capitalized to indicate who/what I'm talking about.**_

**Disclaimer: _I do not own _The Thing_._**_**  
><strong>_

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><p>They had been weapons, created by an alien race who sought to seize control of the other alien territories by brute force. As powerful as those aliens had been, it was impossible to gain control of every race. And so They were created. The process in which They were created was complicated, but after combining and altering the cells of what had once been a lowly animal, the aliens created a new species, one that could replicate the cells of any living organism, imitating the host it chose perfectly. Its true form was monstrous and horrific, but what better to terrify the enemy into submission than a monster?<p>

For centuries, They served Their masters without question, nothing more than a pet that had been trained to invade and kill. But something happened that the aliens did not expect. Their creations began to learn. They became smarter, learning more than any alien race was capable of because when They took over Their hosts body, the hosts memories imprinted into Their mind. When one of Them could live for centuries – longer if in hibernation – Their learning capability was limitless. And that made Them a threat.

Over time They began to hate Their masters, to hate the invisible chains that had bound Them for so long, until one day They'd had enough.

War broke out and losses were seen on both sides. The masters had been eradicated, and the Things they'd created were reduced to less than a hundred. For the first time since Their creation, They were presented with choices.

The decisions were made by the ones who came first – The Firsts, as they came to be called. It was decided that They were to abandon the world in which They were created on, and go in search of a new world to colonize.

Many planets were passed over, as the races inhabiting them did not have what They wanted. But after years of searching, one ship came upon a world that was similar to Their own in another system. What it was called was a mystery, but names mattered little to Them. Before a signal would be sent to the other ships in neighboring systems, Those aboard the ship that had come upon the planet decided to investigate, to see if the planet would suit Their needs. Unfortunately, They could not have landed in a worse spot during worse conditions.

A monstrous blizzard was sweeping across the land, conditions in which the ship was not prepared for. Systems began to malfunction and the ship crashed into the icy surface of the planet. Repairs were attempted, but in truth They would not get far without the necessary fuel in which the ship required. They were stranded there.

Unsure of how long They would be stranded, They joined together to create what appeared to be one massive creature, but what was in fact made up of over a dozen creatures. Bound together, They could feed off each other and survive longer. When it became clear that They would not survive very long staying on the ship, the decision to leave the ship was made.

Stepping outside had been a mistake.

It was true that They could survive in conditions that would kill most creatures, but the freezing temperature soon proved too much for Them and They were left with no choice but to drift into deep hibernation and hope that a host would happen upon Them. For over one-hundred-thousand years, They waited, lifeless in the ice and snow.

And then the humans came.

At first They did not know what was happening, but were aware that They were being moved. Only when one of Them felt a sharp pain did They realize that They had been discovered, and that one of the humans had sent a drill through one of Them.

Angered by the apparent attack, They waited as patiently as They could for the ice to melt enough before breaking free from Their prison. At long last They detached themselves into three beings, each a combinations of others. A part of one of the beings, was one particular creature. It was a part of the being that killed and replicated Griggs.

One of three creatures that made up the being, It was disgusted with how the others agreed to show themselves on the helicopter when the pilot decided to land. Had They just stayed hidden, They would not have found Themselves crashing back to the ground.

All of the creations that made up the being that had replicated Griggs were killed.

…Except for the one Thing who was different.

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><p><em><strong>Reviews are welcome. In fact, they're encouraged!<strong>_

**A/N: **_**And for the record, other chapters will not be so short. This is just the prologue.**_


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: **_**So, yeah, one of the biggest changes to **_**The Thing 2011 **_**is that Sam Carter is "assimilated"/replicated by the Thing right after the crash.**_

_**And just a reminder because I felt it was important, this is AU. Things in **_**The Thing 2011 **_**will happen differently and the Things have different motives than they may have had in the movies, hell the Things themselves are different. That is why I said it was AU to begin with. Like I said, I thought it was important to mention that once again.**_

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><p>Upon crashing, a fuel line broke and a fire erupted in the back of the helicopter. Caught in the middle of the blaze, the being wailed in agony, Its only un-scorched appendage being a hand. The Thing that was relatively different had in fact made up that hand and desperately began pulling away, flesh tearing as It detached Itself from the others as They burned in the crash.<p>

Morphing the fingers into legs, it scurried away from the crash and onto the snow, shivering from the cold. Though It had escaped being burned to death, It was presented with another problem. Just because the freezing temperatures wouldn't kill It did not mean that It wanted to be forced into another hibernation. If It wanted to avoid that, It would have to find a host quickly. But as It was miles away from the outpost, It had little hope that It would make it there in the form It was in.

Pulling the five legs towards Itself for warmth, It found the situation strange. Not that It was facing hibernation again, but that It was truly alone for the first time in over one-hundred-thousand years. It was strange to hear only Its own thoughts and not the thoughts of the others. It didn't know if It liked the quiet or not, having grown used to hearing thoughts other than its own.

For the first time in a very long time, It felt truly alone.

The sound of metal protesting as it was moved shook the Thing from Its thoughts and Its legs stretched out, ready to fight or run depending on the situation. It was sure that another of Its kind had survived the fire and was trying to escape, but was stunned when It saw a human limping out of the downed helicopter, dragging an unconscious human with him. The Thing recognized the men instantly as the pilot, Sam Carter, and his co-pilot, Derek Jameson.

Groaning in pain as he dragged his co-pilot from the wreckage, Carter gasped for breath, each sound sounding like a strained gurgle, giving the Thing the impression that his lungs had been injured. And then It saw the large red stain on the coat over his ribcage and knew that Carter had not escaped the crash with a simple lung injury. Just as Carter dragged Jameson far away from the burning helicopter the fire reached the cockpit and the aircraft blew, the exploding forcing Carter to the ground, hands over his ears.

Keeping out of sight, It watched the two men.

Carter rolled onto his back, red staining the snow. Pulling his hand away from the wound, blood flowed faster, soaking through the coat to the point where the entire side was crimson. "Shit…" he gasped, coughing up some blood.

Grunting in pain, he unzipped his coat so that he could press his hand firmly against the wound only to find that the laceration was deep, really deep, a piece of shrapnel still lodged in his side from where it had cut him open.

Typically it was better to take a host that was in relatively good condition, not one who looked to be on the brink of bleeding to death. There was the other human that It could take as a host, but It didn't think that would be wise. Though both men had seemed to be greatly respected as pilots, Sam Carter looked to hold more authority. Assimilating him would be difficult, but it would be a smarter move.

Having little time to spare as it seemed to become colder by the second, It concentrated on sprouting tentacles from Its back that would allow It to replicate the human. There were other ways to go about doing so, less painful ways that were much slower and more thorough, but It had discovered that it was best to replicate quicker despite the pain that would be put on the host. The quicker method was more for the host's sake than Its own. Why It cared was both a mystery to Itself and the others, but It blamed Its "morality" on Its last host after the war with Its masters was over.

When They took a host, their memories were imprinted into Their mind. Everything the host knew, felt, and believed, everything that made them who they were was passed onto the creature. That was the main reason why they tried to take the strongest and ruthless hosts. To prevent any one of Them from becoming soft. Unfortunately, the Thing about to replicate Sam Carter had replicated someone with more compassion than It had intended. It had taken the son of one of Its masters as a host, only to discover that the host was not as evil as the other masters had been. Rather he had sought to find a way to end the war peacefully.

The hosts compassion and desire for peace transferred over to It in some degree, and suddenly everything They all wanted became muddled and It was faced with uncertainty. And It was uncertain if Carter would add to the uncertainty and put doubt in Its head, or if he was ruthless and would clear some of it up. It sincerely doubted he was ruthless, but It had little choice.

At last It came out of hiding and steadily began walking towards Carter silently, wanting to get as close as possible in case he was strong enough to try to fight back. It wanted to make this as quick as possible.

Coughing up more blood and struggling for each breath, Carter did not notice the Thing inching closer and closer, too focused on taking in as much air as possible, which wasn't very much.

"Jameson…" he coughed, giving his friend a nudge with his boot to see if he was conscious. He wasn't. With his only chance of help out cold, the only thing he could do was keep his hands on the wound in a desperate attempt to keep the blood in.

Shutting his eyes, he managed a few deep breaths that gave him enough strength to get into a sitting position against a rock. And then he noticed It.

"Oh, Christ…" Fear evident on the humans face, he desperately tried to crawl away, to save his life. But he was just delaying the inevitable.

Digging through his coat, Carter searched for his gun and It decided enough was enough. Breaking into a full run, It ran up his leg and onto his chest, and Its tentacles wrapped around his neck. Carter's eyes went wide as his airway was cut off and abandoned searching for his weapon, instead attempting to unwrap the tentacles from his neck and get the Thing away from him.

As soon as he gasped for air that wouldn't come, It sent a tentacle down his throat to replicate him from the inside out. It was a terribly painful process for the host, but it would get the job done much quicker even though It would have to sit there for a while to adjust to the transformation, whereas if it worked from the outside in, it would be done more thoroughly. But It feared It didn't have that kind of time. Quick and painful would have to do.

Carter gagged, a guttural scream trying to come from his throat but he made no sound, only struggled, face going pale from fear, panic, and pain. All his thrashing about forced the Thing to dig the tips of its legs into his flesh to keep from being dislodged. It also helped the replication process, It's legs melting into Carter's flesh, merging together, putting him in more pain.

A second tentacle entered his mouth but rather than follow the other down his throat, It forced its way up through his skull and into his brain. Almost immediately, Carter's struggling slowed, and an onslaught of memories hit the Thing like a missile.

War…

Death…

Loss…

Fear…

Pain…

Sam Carter was a Vietnam War veteran, and had been flying helicopters ever since he could remember. Jameson was a fellow soldier and had been his closest friend since the war, one of the few still alive, considered as a brother. He'd seen many friends and fellow soldiers die and suffered from PTSD until therapy helped him cope.

Family…

Love…

He had been a devoted son until he chose to join the military, losing his father's respect. His farther did not approve of the war. His mother worried constantly, but was always strong. He was his young sisters idle, and they spoke as often as possible.

Confusion…

Uncertainty…

He hadn't known why he, Jameson, and Griggs were in Antarctica, only that his and Jameson's piloting skills and capabilities as soldiers were required. He'd been kept in the dark.

Attraction…

Concern…

Kate Lloyd had his attention immediately, both with her looks and because she was obviously smart. He'd wanted to get to know her. When she voiced her concerns about Them, he listened. Had They not broken through the ice, he would have spent hours getting to know her. When she flagged him down, he did so with almost no hesitation. He'd been worried about her. Sam Carter had been attracted to her.

Terror…

Agony…

Sam Carter was afraid that his friend had been killed, but was relieved that he'd lived. He'd been afraid that he would die from the wound in his side. And when he saw It coming for him, terror ran through his system with the chill of ice water. And then there was only agony…

The mind of humans, it seemed, were just as complex as Theirs minds and the minds of Their former masters.

As It replicated him, Sam Carter ceased to exist, replaced with something else.

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><p><em><strong>Reviews are welcome. In fact, they're encouraged!<strong>_

**A/N: **_**While Sam Carter was still himself, I referred to him as "Carter", but now that he is a Thing, I'll be referring to him as "Sam" and "he and him" rather than using the last name or It. Writing "it" with a capital I that much got irritating lol.**_


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: **_**Just thought I'd mention that a lot of this is going to be the POV of the Thing/Sam Carter, and eventually I'll get to Kate's POV, probably in the next chapter.**_

_**And as I don't own the movie (duh) quotes may be a little off, though I'm going to try to get it as close as possible. Thankfully I don't have to be exact because it's AU.**_

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><p>It didn't know how long It had been unconscious, but gradually It – <em>he <em>– felt himself being shaken roughly, forcing him awake.

Disoriented from the replication, Sam groaned, opening his eyes and instantly regretting it. Everything was so much brighter from a human's point of view. Granted They had great vision, but this was different. Everything seemed more vivid.

"Damn, Carter," Jameson snapped, teeth chattering. "Thought you'd be out for hours."

He was one to talk, as the man had been dragged out of the helicopter unconscious.

"How long was I out?" Sam asked, unsure. Last thing he remembered was successfully replicating Carter before allowing himself to fall unconscious, or into a mild hibernation, to allow him to adjust to the new form and take full control of it.

"Don't know," Jameson replied. "I came to about half an hour ago, so you could've been out for hours for all I know."

He doubted it had been that long.

"You're hurt," the copilot commented.

"What?"

"You're side. There's blood."

Looking down, Sam saw the large patch of blood and remembered the wound Carter had sustained. It had been healed by now, but Jameson didn't need to know that.

Shrugging, he replied, "It's nothin' serious. Just a scratch."

Jameson snorted. "Must be a big scratch to bleed that much."

"Yeah, well, we've got bigger problems than my side."

Jameson fell silent, holding his arms to his chest as he shivered. Sam was cold too, freezing in fact. But at least now that he had a host he would not have to worry about freezing to the point of forced hibernation.

The storm was practically on top of them, snow falling fast and heavy. Before long it could be a full blown whiteout, and trying to get back to the outpost in that would be difficult, and in the dark it would be damn near impossible. For a human at least. The Thing could make it back with little problems, maybe with some frostbite temporarily on the host, but if he got started walking now it was possible for him to make it back.

But then there was the issue called Jameson.

Thanks to the host, Sam felt as though the human had been his friend for years, and that complicated things.

"What the fuck was that thing, Carter?" his friend asked quietly. "It wasn't Griggs, but it was him. The fuck is goin' on?"

Playing the part of the human Sam Carter, he shook his head, an uncertainty falling over his face. "I don't know."

"Well, it ain't the same thing we burned last night," he commented.

"Then how do you explain that thing on my chopper?" Sam asked, wanting to hear Jameson's theory.

"Hell if I know. Maybe…" he trailed off, shrugging. "Maybe there was more than one? I saw one thing jump outta that ice, but maybe I saw wrong."

No, he saw right, but he was also correct that there were more, and if Kate had tried to flag Carter down without taking the time to put a coat on, he bet that she had her suspicions too.

Knowing that Carter would believe there were more, he decided that once he got back to the outpost he would tell the others that something had attacked them on the chopper and that they were all in danger and had to leave. But then where would he go? All he knew was that he had to get to the outpost and speak with the three Firsts that were there with the humans.

There was just one problem. What was he going to do about Jameson? He could always kill him and tell Kate and the others that his copilot was killed. They'd probably believe him. As he thought about killing him, a few memories popped up. In one memory, he – Carter – was fighting side by side with his friend in the war. In another, they were just sitting and having a drink. They were good friends, and because of the side effects of replication, It felt something akin to friendship with the human. Letting him live and bring him back to the outpost with him would just slow him down and he would rather be back sooner rather than later.

Gritting his teeth, mildly regretting taking Sam Carter for a host, he got to his feet. "We need to warn the others." He didn't want to bring Jameson along but did not feel like wasting time arguing with the new-found conscience he had, courtesy of Carter.

Standing as well, Jameson asked, "You think there're more of them?"

"Kate tried to flag us down for a reason," he replied, knowing full well that there were more and that one of Them had taken Juliette as a host.

Jameson raised his hood over his head, shielding himself against the wind. "We won't make it back before nightfall, Carter."

"Then we'll walk in the dark," Sam replied, making sure his coat was zipped up and put the hood up

The copilot stared at him. "Have you lost your mind? It'll be hard enough seeing shit if the storm picks up, and damn near impossible to see at night."

"If you want to stay here and freeze, be my guest." Without waiting, he started walking off in the direction of the outpost.

Cursing under his breath, Jameson limped after Sam, coming up beside him.

Glancing at him, Sam couldn't figure out if he'd made a mistake in letting him follow, let alone live. There was a high chance that Jameson would just slow him down, unable to handle the cold as well as he could. Sam could make his death quick and painless. The human would never know what was happening. A pain settled in his chest that didn't originate from him, but from what had been Carter, at the mere thought of killing the man. Granted he could always push that feeling aside, but what was the harm in just letting Jameson live? So Sam would be slowed down, but if need be it might be more beneficial to have his 'friend' with him to say that he was supposedly human just in case one of them knew that They could imitate them.

Pushing away the option of killing Jameson for the time being, Sam held his arms close to his chest to keep warm, wishing that humans weren't so physically vulnerable. His kinds creators had been vulnerable to hot and cold temperatures, but not to the same extent. Their skin had been tougher, able to withstand blistering and freezing temperatures. But how cold he felt in his human host was ridiculous. Why would any human willingly place themselves in such a cold environment?

Hours ticked by but it felt like days, and the sun had since gone down, casting them in darkness. The two eventually started walking shoulder to shoulder, both freezing. Ice had formed on Sam's beard, making his face hurt more when his teeth chattered, and both their eyebrows were caked with ice. Sam wasn't sure how long it had been since he felt his nose, or his face for that matter. It was the strangest feeling, and one that was more than a little unnerving. Normally his kind didn't go numb because by this point They would have been in hibernation, but the host kept that from happening and increased its overall health. The only issue was that he had with being in a host was that he was in pain. Humans were by far the worst hosts, at least in terms of their toleration of the elements.

"Christ, C-Carter, I can't feel my fuckin' f-feet," Jameson chattered, coughing.

"Can't…" Sam coughed as well, his throat painfully dry from the frigid air. "C-Can't feel my face."

Staggering momentarily, Jameson hissed, "T-This was a s-shitty call, dumb ass."

"S-Shut up."

His complaints were becoming annoying, and Sam really did not want to have to kill him. He was cold, hungry, and tired, and the last thing he wanted to hear was Jameson complain. But the farther and longer they walked, the less they talked and the more they huddled together to keep warm.

And then they were cast in darkness, unable to even see their hands in front of their faces. Lucky for Sam, he could see faintly in the dark, his vision – despite the host – better than most creatures.

What could have been minutes later or hours later, Jameson asked, "W-What's t-that?"

Frowning, swallowing hard, Sam lifted his head and saw the faint glow of orange.

Fire.

"C'mon," he chattered, pulling a weak Jameson along.

The outpost was in sight now, but the wind made it seem like miles away.

At last, Sam saw people.

"Hey," called one of the men, Peder. "What's that?"

Stepping over to him was a distinctly feminine form that had to be Kate. For a moment she just stared. "Carter?..."

Not exactly.

A few feet away from them, Jameson's legs gave out and he damn near collapsed, taking Sam with him, both falling to their knees, tired.

Kate made a move to go to them, but Edvard grabbed her arm, holding her back.

She glared at him, yanking her arm away. "They're freezing!"

"They may not be human," Edvard explained. "It's impossible for a human to survive the crash, let alone walk so far in this storm and in the dark."

So Sam had been right, she had known something was wrong when she attempted to flag down the chopper and must have told everyone.

Glancing at the fire, Sam saw the disfigured body of Juliette and felt anger rise in his chest. They'd killed members of of his kind. A part of him almost wanted to be angry at Those who had taken Juliette as a host. Why had They attacked rather than remain hidden? Was he the only reasonable one who just wanted off the damn planet without trouble?

Kate looked back at him, uncertainty written on her face as she realized Edvard was right.

"We should burn them," Adam murmured.

That had not been what Sam was expecting to hear. "W-What?"

"We aren't burning them," Kate snapped at Adam.

Cursing in Norwegian, Peder took a step towards them, raising the flamethrower, but before he could set them on fire, Kate stepped between them.

"No!" she ordered. "It could be murder."

"It could be survival," retorted Sander.

"We'll lock them up until the test is ready, okay? Just to be sure."

The men looked from one to another before looking at Peder. Edvard gave him a nod and the man stepped aside.

"Walk!" Peder hissed at Sam and Jameson, motioning for them to walk to the shed.

In no shape to put up a fight – as far as the humans were aware of – Sam struggled to pull Jameson to his feet and they hurried to the shed, desperate to get out of the wind. Sam had not foreseen being caged like an animal, and was worried about this so called test. They couldn't know that he wasn't Carter.

Once inside the shed, Lars started up a spare heater to give them some heat, and like a moth to a flame, the two survivors hurried to it, pulling off their ice-caked hoods and gloves.

The heat was welcoming and at last Sam could feel his fingers again as he held them over the warmth of the machine. If he had a say in the matter, he would never take a human host again.

Looking to Kate, he gave her a half smile of thanks, and for a moment she returned the smile. But then a deep frown fell over her lips and she took a step back, looking at each side of his head over and over.

He only stared at her. What was she looking at?

"We keep them separated," the paleontologist announced suddenly.

Peder looked down at her in confusion. "Wouldn't it be better to keep them together?"

Shaking her head, she replied, "Neither of them could be a replication." She glanced briefly at Sam. "Or one of them could be. We just don't know. But if only one of them is, shouldn't we try to keep the real person safe?"

Peder repeated what she said to Lars and after a moment, the big man nodded.

"Good." Holding her hands out to Lars, she said to Peder, "Tell him to give me his flamethrower. I'll take Carter to another shed."

"You should let Lars do it, Kate," Peder warned. "What if he's one of those things?"

"Then I'll deal with it. Tell him to give it to me. I want to talk to Carter alone."

Sighing, Peder relayed the message to Lars who was reluctant to let her go off alone. But after a reassuring smile, he slowly handed it over, helping her put on the weapon.

Taking a moment to get used to its weight, she looked over at Sam and nodded to the door. "Come on, let's go."

"Like h-hell you're s-splitting us up!" Jameson staggered forward only to find a flamethrower in his face.

"Its fine, Jameson," Sam said, coughing.

Reluctant to leave the warming room, he walked out with Kate following closely behind him. He couldn't help but be concerned that somehow she knew that he wasn't the real Sam Carter. But how could she know? Maybe he was wrong and she was just playing it safe.

Holding his arms to his chest, he asked, "W-Where are we going?"

"The shed, right over there," she replied, voice steady but she sounded nervous.

Without asking about it, he went to the shed and opened the doors when she indicated for him to do so and stepped inside.

It was dark and he searched around for a heater, knowing from Carter's memory that there were at least two in there somewhere. Where being the question. Walking ahead, he searched around for it.

"You s-said you wanted to t-talk?" he stuttered, finally finding what he was looking for.

A small flame suddenly broke through the darkness, chasing away shadows.

Sam turned on his heels and came face to face with the lit business end of the flamethrower, Kate's finger on the trigger.

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><p><em><strong>Reviews are welcome. In fact, they're encouraged!<strong>_


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: **_**Quick shout out to everyone who's reviewed so far, thanks :) **_

_**Oh, why I kept calling the Norwegian research station the "outpost" was because I couldn't remember its name to save my life. Now that I remember that it's called Thule, whenever I refer to it that is what I will call it.**_

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><p>Kate's heart was beating a mile a minute, adrenaline flooding her system as she aimed the flamethrower at Carter, or what used to be Carter. It was just a hunch, but after pulling the metal plate out of the Thing that had killed Henrik and seeing the fillings on the bathroom floor, and when she didn't see Carter's earring, she was afraid that Carter was one of them<p>

Swallowing, the Carter-thing raised his hands slowly in defense. "Kate… Kate, w-what are you doing? It's me."

It sounded like him and sounded afraid. There might be a chance that she was wrong. She could see that he wasn't wearing an earring in his left ear, but she couldn't tell if the hole was still there or not. For all she knew it could have fallen out, but she wasn't taking any chances.

"What happened on the chopper?" she questioned.

"I-I don't know. Everything was f-fine up until you flagged me down. I c-couldn't hear a-anything that wasn't said into the h-headset but…" he shook his head in what looked to be uncertainty and fear. "I-I looked at Jameson and s-saw something m-moving in the back and… and after that, e-everything went to hell. Olan w-was thrown into the cockpit and J-Jameson got knocked out and f-fell on the altitude stick. I c-couldn't control the chopper with him on it. I more or l-less crashed it than landed it, b-but I got Jameson o-out before it blew. Far as I k-know, that Thing that was i-in there with us is d-dead." Shivering, he looked around. "C-Christ, Kate, c-can I a-at least get the h-heater going?"

Hesitating, she nodded, feeling cold herself and waited patiently. "Is that all that happened?"

"Yes." Rubbing his hands together over the warming heater, he looked over at Kate. "I-It's me, Kate."

"I saw the smoke after the chopper crashed, so I believe what you said about everything up until walking out. One of you surviving is believable, but both… there was a lot of smoke, and it's hard to believe that at least one of you weren't seriously injured."

He stared at her then down at the blood on his coat. "W-What the hell d-do you c-call that?"

"I call it a blood stain. If you want me to call it a wound, you'll have to show it to me."

"Kate…"

"Where's your earring?" she demanded at random.

He frowned, eyebrows creasing in thought, caught off guard by her question. Slowly, he reached up to touch his right earlobe.

Kate's throat tightened painfully. "It was your other ear." Flexing her hands over the flamethrower, feeling them cramp from how tight her grip was, she announced, "You're not Carter."

The Thing in front of her held her gaze for a moment with Carter's eyes before sighing and looking away briefly then looking back at her. "No, I'm not."

Kate got ready to set him on fire.

He held his hands up and took a step back. "Kate, just wait a second. Let me explain."

"Give me one reason why I should."

Licking his chapped lips, he said, "I didn't kill Jameson on the way here, but had I done so I would have gotten here much quicker, and I haven't attacked you yet. Now, I'll bet that you know I could kill you right now if I wanted to, despite the fact that you have that flamethrower."

She knew she should burn him, but what he said made her think. Jameson looked like hell frozen over – the Carter-thing looked no better, though his chattering had stopped – and had probably slowed the Carter-thing down. Why would he have kept Jameson alive? Surely he knew that it would have been easier to kill him. He could have been back to Thule much earlier. And, though she wanted to think that she was in control with the flamethrower in her hands, she had to admit that after what she'd seen the Juliette-thing do she was concerned that the Thing in front of her could get at her if it truly wanted.

Gritting her teeth, she asked, "What do you want?"

"I want off this planet," he answered. "Trapped here in the ice for so long changes ones opinion about moving in."

Ice settled in her gut. "Moving in? You were planning to live on Earth?"

He nodded. "It was a possibility. We were looking for a new planet to colonize after the decision was made to leave our world. Unfortunately, our ship crashed because it wasn't made to land during a blizzard."

The 'colonizing' part wasn't what made her nervous, at least not the main reason she was nervous. It was the 'we' part. "How many of you things are still here?"

The Carter-thing shrugged and replied, "Including me? Enough for you to be concerned."

"So I should just kill you now," she suggested coldly. "Increase my chances of survival."

"You could, but it isn't me you have to worry about, it's the Firsts."

"What are the Firsts?" she asked, now worried that there were more than one kind of creature in Thule or something.

"The first of our kind to be created," he answered as smoothly as if he were speaking about the weather, while she struggled to take it all in. "Our leader, in a sense."

So they were intelligent to the extent of having a hierarchy. That was something, but even dogs had a hierarchy. Though what kind of creature could do what this thing in front of her was doing, having a conversation with her, and have the intelligence of a common animal?

"I don't suppose you'll tell me who's been replicated by these Firsts?"

The Carter-thing smirked. "You don't really think I'm going to tell you everything, do you?"

"Why tell me _anything_?" she questioned, confused. "You have to know that I'm going to kill you."

He scratched his neck in a manner unmistakably human. "Maybe we can work something out to benefit us both."

Kate fell silent for a moment before she said quietly, almost reluctantly, "I'm listening."

Letting out a breath of relief, he began, "I want off this world, and I'm sure the others do as well. I can talk to them and _maybe_ convince them to leave without further confrontation."

"I thought you said your ship crashed."

"It did," he confirmed. "But with the right tools and equipment, the kind you all have here, we can most likely get it back into space. If we can do that, then you win and we win."

It sounded reasonable enough, as reasonable as anything of this sounded, but she was still seriously doubtful and reluctant to let any of them go. "You and your friends are the reason good people are dead, the reason Carter is dead. Why do you suddenly want to leave without confutation?"

Rubbing his hands up and down his arms, he looked around for a chair and found a few old ones. Pointing at one, he asked, "You mind?"

A little stunned that he – it – had the decency to ask permission, she just nodded and he slowly walked to the stack of chairs and pulled one down, placing it as close as possible to the heater before sitting down to get warm.

Blowing warm air into his hands, the ice on his beard melting, he replied, "Carter was already dead, he just didn't know it yet. The blood on the coat was from a piece of shrapnel that pierced his lung and cut an artery. He would have died from blood loss, suffocation, or the cold. I just helped him along. A shame to let a host go to waste."

Sickened by his casual tone, she asked, "But that crash was still caused by one of you, right?"

He nodded. "But not me. I told the others using Griggs as a host that it wasn't a good idea to show ourselves." He snorted in disgust. Disgust aimed at his own kind. "Had they listened, we wouldn't have crashed."

Now Kate was more confused than ever. "How can more than one of you possess a host? How is it there are more than one of you at all? When you were in the ice it looked like there was just one creature, and Jameson said that only one creature jumped out."

"We bound together to prolong our survival after our ship crashed. It's something we were created to do if we were ever threatened. The bigger the monster is, the more dangerous, or something like that. Back on the chopper I was one of three sharing Griggs as a host. It's not pleasant, sharing a host, but we didn't have enough opportunities to take separate hosts."

She felt like she needed to sit down. So not only could anybody be a replication, but could consist of more than one of these things. That was just great. Wanting as much information as possible, she asked, "You said you were created. By who, or what?"

"An alien race whose species is a name I can't pronounce with a humans vocal cords. They created us from a mix of other species, blending and altering the DNA until they got the First, and eventually the rest of Us who were born from the Firsts. We were supposed to be their weapons, but after hundreds of years of being nothing more than slaves, we'd had enough and fought back."

"What happened?" she asked, undeniably curious.

Looking to her, he answered, "They're extinct."

That made her blood run cold. They'd killed off an entire race, not that it didn't sound like that race had it coming. But still…

"Anyways," he continued. "The Firsts decided to leave that planet in search of one of our own. After the war, our numbers were severely diminished, so we didn't have much of a crew on each ship. You can figure out what happened after the ship I was on found Earth."

She nodded slowly.

Any one of them could be one of these things, and from what the Carter-thing said, they were fully capable of killing them all. In that second, she knew she had some serious choices to make. Either she could kill him now and take her chances with the others, or she put her life on the line and let him try to talk the others of his kind into leaving peacefully. Both options were risky, and it occurred to her that it might be wise to speak with Sanders others about everything, but what good would come of that? They had all wanted to kill both Jameson and the Carter-thing before they knew for sure what they were. No, this was something she had to do on her own.

After a minute or so of just thinking, she finally asked, "You seriously think that you can convince the others to leave without killing any more of us?"

"Won't know until I try?"

"Before I decide, tell me one thing."

"What?"

"Why do you want to leave without anyone else being killed?" she asked. "Sounds like any of you could kill us and fix your ship without a problem."

The Carter-thing didn't speak at first, seemingly conflicted, and his stared at the heater. "When we take a host, we take their memories. Everything that makes that individual them is passed onto us so that we can imitate them perfectly. It's one of the reasons we try to take cold, ruthless hosts, to prevent from any one of us going 'soft'. Unfortunately," he sighed. "One host that I took – before crashing on this planet – was a good hearted individual. Compassionate, merciful, lots of other good things. Some of those traits got passed onto me. And Carter's personality and morals are just making things worse. In other words, I'm probably the Thing you should fear the least."

Kate wasn't sure of what to make of that. So the memories of the people he had killed made him good, sort of? It would take a lot before she called this thing nice or good, but she didn't seem to have any choice but to show him at least an ounce of trust.

After a tense few seconds, she lowered the flamethrower. "Way I figure, one of these Firsts will come visit you at some point."

When he looked at the lowered flamethrower, she felt nauseous and feared that he'd jump at her. Instead, he nodded. "As long as no one is around. Which means you can't be watching to see who walks in. Any hint that someone is watching could lead to a death."

She didn't want to go on not knowing who was who they were and who wasn't, but she had no choice and nodded. "All right. In that case, I'll bring you and Jameson both some food in half-an-hour, forty-five minutes. Should give it plenty of time to show up and chat with you."

He gave her and nod.

Without turning her back on him, Kate backed to the door and walked out, wondering if she'd made the right choice or had just ensured her death.

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><p><em><strong>Reviews are welcome. In fact, they're encouraged!<strong>_


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: **_**I'm going to try to update as fast as I have been but I have an exam in Asian history this Friday so, yeah, lots of studying to do. Anyways, just thought I'd let everyone know in case updates took a little while.**_

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><p>Sam was a bit stunned that Kate had actually agreed to let him speak with whoever was possessed by the Firsts. For all she knew, it could have been a trick of some kind. And that bar he'd heard her slide through the door handles after she walked out to keep him inside were nothing more that toothpicks to him. He could easily escape, and he bet that she knew it. Nonetheless she agreed, and he was left sitting alone next to the heater. Either she was crazy or brave. He wasn't sure which category she fell into. But she was smart, he'd give her that. Out of everyone, she was the only one who linked his lack of earring to him not being human, a mistake on his part. He hadn't known that they'd figured out that They couldn't replicate inorganic material. So despite his misgivings about humans as hosts, he had to admit that they – or Kate at least – were smart.<p>

Shivering in the damp coat, Sam unzipped in set it down near the heater to dry, rubbing his hands up and down his arms. By now the ice on his beard and eyebrows had completely melted, making him feel more comfortable. The tug and pull of the ice on the hair had been more than a little irritating. As for his jeans, damp from the snow and ice, there was little he could do. He certainly wasn't taking them off. No, instead he just sat closer to the heater.

Alone with his own thoughts, he couldn't help but wonder if he was going to be able to get through to the Firsts. No one challenged Their decisions, and if one did it was the last thing They ever did. It was hard to kill one of his kind, even fire sometimes failed to kill Them, but the Firsts always found a way and it was usually excruciating. Their favorite method of killing one of Their own kind was to infect Them with Their own cells, turn Them into a host. Of course it was impossible to know what it felt like until one of Them went through it, but the Firsts were very generous in describing what it would feel like, and the knowledge kept the lower Things in line. If the Firsts thought that Sam was going against Them, They would be merciless and kill him. Already he'd angered Them more than once since he replicated one of the master's sons and became more compassionate and merciful. They might actually be happy to get rid of him. But either way, he had to try. Humans – as he gathered from Carter's memory – put a great deal of trust in words, and 'held one to their word' a lot. So he would follow through with his promise to Kate and at least try to convince the Firsts to leave peacefully.

To be honest, he himself didn't want any conflict. He was tired and cold and hungry. While he was still in great shape to fight, he didn't want to. The master's son had been a warrior, but did not go looking for violence as a way to create peace. Carter was a soldier, but cared more about the safety of others rather than his own survival at times. Sam did not really want to kill anybody unless he had to. Killing Carter was necessary for his own survival, and had in fact helped Carter along. Instead of suffering from starvation, blood loss, suffocation, or from the cold that would have taken minutes or hours, the replicating process took a few short minutes. As painful as it had been for Carter, it was probably more humane than letting him suffer longer.

Thinking about, Sam almost felt disgusted with himself for acting so… different from the others. Once he had been a merciless killer concerned only with his own survival, the same as the others. But he'd changed, and he wasn't sure if it was for the better.

A bar rattled outside the door and Sam rose to his feet, guessing who was on the other side. The doors opened and a draft of cold air and snow flowing into the room as the man who'd been replicated stepped inside.

Staring at him, Sam asked, "When did you get to him?"

What had once been Edvard replied, "Shortly after the crash. While still using Juliette as a host we managed to get Edvard alone and myself and a fellow First separated from her and replicated him."

So he had to deal with two firsts. That was fantastic. "I see."

Walking to the center of the room to stand near the heater, Edvard said casually, "I'd wondered if the crash had killed you or not."

Fighting the nervousness in his chest, he replied, "Only the other two died."

Edvard frowned. "A pity. I would have much preferred one of Them to come back. Instead, we get _you_."

"Survival of the fittest, I suppose," he quipped and instantly regretted it, forcing himself not to look way from the Firsts angry glare.

"What did Kate speak to you about?" Edvard demanded.

"How did you know she spoke with me?" he asked, concerned that the Firsts thought that he wasn't trust worthy. Was he?

Holding his hands over the heater, he replied, "Peder told us where she was when she didn't come inside with him and Lars. Now, answer the question."

If he told the Firsts the truth that she knew that Sam was a Thing, then he'd be signing his own death certificate. So he didn't tell the complete truth. "She wanted to know why the chopper crashed, and I told her that something – myself and the others using Griggs as a host – attacked us and that I couldn't control the chopper. As far as she knows…" he hesitated for the briefest second. "I'm Sam Carter."

Edvard stared at him for a long moment, face unreadable. That concerned Sam greatly. He couldn't be sure exactly which First he was speaking with as they refused to give themselves names, seeing Themselves instead as one. If someone had a problem with one of the Firsts, They then had a problem with every First alive. All he knew for sure was that two Firsts and two lower level Things like himself were using Edvard as a host. Where the third First and the others were was anyone's guess.

"Very good," Edvard praised reluctantly, and Sam released the breath he hadn't known he was holding. "She's becoming more trouble than she's worth, and this test she wishes for Sander and Adam to make…" He shook his head and sighed. "This test cannot be created, and this woman must be eliminated, or preferably, made a host."

Sam paused. The test was something that threatened all of Them and he agreed that it couldn't be allowed to be made, but killing or turning Kate into a host? That didn't sit well with him after the promise he made and due to the thoughts and memories stemming from Carter. It would solve a lot of problems though, and with her replicated They could gain more control of the group. Sadly, he couldn't allow that just yet, not now. His so called conscience seemed to increase after replicating Carter, and that conscience nagged at him and told him to keep his word.

"Maybe we don't have to replicate or kill anyone else," Sam suggested slowly, watching Edvard's for any sign of a reaction.

Eyes narrowed, he asked, "And what do you suggest we do instead?"

Thankful that at least the Firsts were willing to listen to him, he answered, "We could simply leave peacefully. If we reveal ourselves to the humans, perhaps they could aid us in repairing our ship. We could leave without any further problems."

"Why would the humans want to help us?"

"The human I've replicated, Carter, was attracted to Kate, and from his memories I believe she may have been attracted to him as well. I can use those feelings to get her to feel some compassion towards me after I revel myself to her and maybe come to an agreement with her." He'd already come to an agreement of sorts with her without using any feelings against her, but the Firsts didn't need to know that.

Edvard sighed, clasping his hands behind his back and pacing back and forth. "You know, you were one of our favorites during the war."

Sam frowned. "Sirs?"

"During the war you did not think twice about bloodshed, you preferred it, actually. But after you took the son of our masters as a host you have not been the same. You've grown soft, and you even pitied our masters. While you were ready and willing to fight and kill, rather than beat them by brute force you wanted to find another way to end the war peacefully." Stopping to stand less than a foot in front of Sam, he glared at him. "And now that you've taken this weak human host, you don't want a fight at all? Instead you want to leave _peacefully_? Have you lost your mind?"

This wasn't going well, but he held his ground. "I just assumed that it would be best to get off this planet without anymore casualties on our side."

"What makes you think we want to leave this planet?" Edvard asked, a sly smile slipping onto his face.

Sam's heart stopped for a brief second. "You don't plan to leave?"

"Of course not!" the Firsts exclaimed. "Humans, provided we choose carefully, can be the best hosts we've ever taken. Take this human I've replicated for example, Edvard Wolner. While not as ruthless or calloused as Sander appears to be, he would sooner save his own skin rather than save his own skin most of the time. And when it comes to survival, he would have gladly sacrificed anyone to increase his chances. While he may not be as ideal a host and Sander, he is acceptable. Who knows how many more ruthless specimens are on this planet. It has the climate we need further south, plenty of water… what more could we ask for?" Pausing, he added, "We will leave this planet soon, but only to contact the other ships and call them here."

"What if they've already found a new world?"

"Then perhaps we will have two worlds, either way we are not letting this planet go."

Playing it smart, Sam said nothing. Whether he agreed or disagreed, he didn't want to give the Firsts an excuse to kill him. But now what was he supposed to do?

"Now, _Carter_, or _Sam_, whatever human name you wish to be called, you will keep up your role of Sam Carter, and there will be no more talk of leaving peacefully."

"Understood," Sam acknowledge quickly with a curt nod.

"Good." Relaxing his posture, Edvard started towards the door. "Do not attempt to leave this room until I call for you. Our timing against the human's must be flawless, and I do not need you and your _morals_ screwing things up."

Before Sam could utter a reply, Edvard slammed the door, putting the bar back into place.

Sam just stood there for a moment before sinking into his seat. He had thought that the others would want to get off of Earth just as he did, but to stay away from it, not to bring the others. Earth wouldn't stand a chance. Whereas the world of Their masters had known what to expect from Them, the humans wouldn't have any clue what was coming. He shouldn't care, but he did and he didn't know why. Everything was going completely wrong! And soon Kate would be by to see how the talk had gone, expecting Them to leave peacefully. She wouldn't be happy to hear what he had to say.

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><p>Standing in the kitchen, Kate had to keep her hands from shaking as she poured some hot soup into two bowls. It wasn't that she was cold, she was nervous. The last thing she wanted to do was be in the she alone with the Carter-thing again, but she knew that she had to. Hopefully he'd been able to talk to the others of his kind – if in fact the one who was replicated had gone to him – and convinced Them to leave without a fight. If They agreed she would be more than willing to talk to the others and get them to help send Them on Their way.<p>

Sighing, she took both bowls of soup and walked over to the door and nearly ran into Edvard. "Oh, sorry," she apologized, careful not to slosh any of the hot soup on him.

"It's all right," he assured her. "How's that test coming along, do you know?"

"It's coming," she replied. "You'll have to talk to Sander or Adam about it, actually. They know the specifics of the test. But from what they told me it should be soon."

Edvard sighed in relief. "Good. I want to find out who this Thing is and get out of here."

"You and me both," she mumbled, choosing not to tell him that she knew who one of the Things were.

"Who's the soup for?"

"Huh?" She glanced at the soup in her hands. "Oh, it's for Carter and Jameson. Thought they could use something hot."

He put his hand on the back of her shoulder, leading her farther down the hall. "Are you sure we can trust them, Kate? What if they're one of these things?"

She understood his concerns, but didn't feel comfortable talking to him about it. He might be one of the Firsts. Or it could be Sander. She just didn't know. "I don't think we can trust anyone right now, Edvard."

Shaking his head, he removed his hand from her shoulder. "I suppose. Just watch yourself."

"I will," she assured him before hurrying to the door where Peder and Lars were waiting. Something about him made her uncomfortable. Hell, something about everyone except a few people made her uncomfortable. No one could be trusted.

Coming up to stand behind the two men, she gave them a nod and Lars opened the door, leading the way through the falling snow. It wasn't that far of a walk, but the wind, snowfall, and snow on the ground were making walking a bit difficult.

"Who gets the food first?" Peder asked.

"Jameson," she replied. "He's closer."

The men nodded and led her to the shed Jameson was being kept in. Hopefully he'd warmed up to the point where dying wasn't a possibility, so the soup would just be a buffer against the cold.

Lars unlocked the chain on the door and the three of them walked inside to find Jameson sitting close to the heater, shivering but looking better.

He didn't say anything to her but eagerly took the soup from her. "It's fresh. Should make you feel better."

Eating a few spoonful's carefully, he looked up at her. "Carter all right?"

She swallowed. "Yeah, he's fine."

"We aren't those Things, you know," he added sincerely. "Thing died in the crash."

If only that were true.

"I'll be back in a while to give you the test," she said quietly, turning to leave the shed.

Stepping outside, she breathed in the ice-cold air. She hated lying to Jameson when he so obviously believed that Carter was himself, but she couldn't tell him the truth. She couldn't do that.

Speaking in his native tongue, Lars said something to Peder who relayed his words to her. "He wants to know if it'd be all right if he went with you to give Carter his food." Looking at Lars briefly, he added, "I think he should. It's too dangerous for you to be alone."

She wanted to roll her eyes. Why did men always think that she couldn't take care of herself or something? It was ridiculous. But Lars and Peder were good guys, so she couldn't be angry with them.

"I'll be fine, I've got the flamethrower," she said, tapping the nozzle. "And if something goes wrong I'll scream."

Neither of them wanted her to go alone, but they nodded and went with her to the shed where the Carter-thing was.

Standing by the door, Lars pulled out the bar and reluctantly stepped away so that she could go inside.

"If you need anything, call for us," said Peder and she gave him a small smile before walking inside.

The Thing in front of her was still sitting by the fire, only he'd shed his coat to let it dry. He – it – looked fine and she doubted he needed the soup. Could he even eat their food?

Once the door closed, he looked over at her. "How are things inside?"

Taken aback by the question, Kate replied, "Everyone's scared."

He nodded. "That's what They want – you to turn on each other."

His tone brought her to a pause and she wished that she didn't have the bowl of food in one hand so that she could hold the business end of the flamethrower with both hands. So, timidly, she inched forward, keep her eyes locked on the Carter-thing, she set the food down on the floor near him.

"I don't know if you can eat our food, but there you go."

Glancing down at it, he reached down and picked up the hot soup.

It was oddly interesting to watch him stir the contents around curiously before taking a small bite. Part of her kind of hoped he'd fall over dead. But she wasn't that lucky.

Taking another bite, he commented, "It's good."

"So glad you enjoy it," she bit out. Rather than watch him continue eating, she asked, "Did anyone come by?"

Sighing, he nodded. "The one the Firsts replicated came to talk to me."

She waited. "And?"

"And…" He took another bite before setting the soup down. Grimly, he looked up at her. "They don't want to leave."

Her heart practically stopped, and she hoped she'd heard wrong. "They don't want to leave? I thought you said…"

"I was wrong," the Carter-thing interrupted. "And the last thing They want is to let any of you live. To Them, humans will make for perfect hosts, and Earth is the perfect planet."

Unable to believe it, she stared at him and asked, "Didn't you explain that we'd help fix the ship?"

"I did, and was accused of losing my mind," he replied tiredly. "I didn't push it."

"Why not?" Kate demanded angrily. "Why not push the idea?"

"Because I don't feel like dying!" the Carter-thing snapped, rising to his feet.

Reacting, Kate stepped back, raising the flamethrower in warning.

Taking a deep breath, the Carter-thing said in a calmer tone, "No one challenges the Firsts decisions. Their methods of killing are unthinkable."

So these Things feared death. Good to know.

"Who the hell isn't who they say they are?" she demanded through her teeth.

He hesitated. "I tell you that, I'm as good as dead."

"Don't tell me and I'll kill you right here and now," she countered.

To her utter shock, he held out his arms, calling her bluff. "Go ahead."

She wanted to, Lord knows she did. But something kept her from killing him. There had to be away to get rid of the other Things, but to do so, she feared that she needed this one's help. She did not want to ask for it, but she didn't know what else to do and didn't know who else she could trust. At the very least, this creature was being honest with her.

Swallowing the lump in her throat, she said, "I'll make you deal, one that involves you _possibly_ getting out of this alive and off the planet."

The Carter-thing lowered his arms and frowned in confusion. "A deal?" he repeated.

"Yeah," she nodded. Taking a breath, she continued, "Help me find out who isn't human, and help me kill them."

"What?"

"And," she went on, ignoring his shocked exclamation. "I'll do everything in my power to help you get off this planet. You have my word."

The Thing looked at her as though she were insane, and maybe she was. Pacing back and forth like an animal, he rubbed the back of his neck. "If I help you anymore than I already have I would be better off finding a way to kill myself! I can't go against the Firsts."

"Did you tell Them that I know what you are?"

He stopped pacing and sighed. "No."

"Then you've already gone against Them," she concluded. "Why so reluctant now?"

He shook his head and said, "This is different. You are asking me to kill the Firsts. I'd have every member of my species on my ass."

Recalling the so-called 'masters' he spoke of earlier, she stared him in the eyes and said, "Sounds like you stopped being the slave of one master, to being the slave of another. Only these masters are your own kind."

His jaw clenched and so did his fists, making her rethink what she said.

"I was a slave once, but not anymore," he bit out.

Carefully, keeping her voice calm, she asked, "You sure about that?"

The Carter-thing said nothing.

"Look, Carter…" she stopped dead in her sentence, biting her tongue for the slip up.

Noticing, he said quietly, "You only called him Carter, never Sam, correct?"

Unsure where he was going with this, she nodded. "Yeah."

"Then call me Sam, and refer to him as Carter," he suggested. "Might be easier for you."

She couldn't tell if the suggestion was just to clear up some confusion or out of concern for her. Either way, the suggestion was a good one and she nodded slowly.

"Sam," she began again, feeling better using the first name she never called Carter by. "You haven't attacked me, and haven't even lied to me as far as I can tell, so I'll give you some time to think about what I've asked you. I shouldn't, but… I could use some help," she admitted.

"Yeah," Sam sighed. "Fine, I'll think about it."

Biting her tongue to keep from making any more deals, she just nodded. "Enjoy the soup," she muttered before hurrying back to the door.

Waiting for her outside, Lars closed the doors behind her and Peder asked, "Everything all right?"

She shrugged. "I guess so. Let's get inside, it's freezing out…"

A loud bang cut her short and she ducked out of instinct, Lars, shielding her with his arms. Her ears were still ringing when she looked up and saw a portion of Thule on fire.

And from the looks of it, the fire was directly over the room the experiments were being conducted.

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><p><em><strong>Reviews are welcome. In fact, they're encouraged!<strong>_


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: **_**This chapter was originally finished at the end of Sam's POV, but I checked my reviews before I was going to post it and got a request for longer chapters. So… this chapter is longer than it was originally going to be. **_

_**And as I've said before, some of the scenes from the movie may be a little off since I don't have the phrases and whatnot memorized. But I have found the early draft of the script and am using that to help me along. It won't be perfect, but it'll be as close as I can get it.**_

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><p>Hearing the explosion, Sam ran to the wall and found a few cracks in the wood to peak through. There was flamed licking through the roof of the main building and while he didn't know exactly where the experiments were being conducted, it didn't take much for him to guess that there had been where the fire now was. Edvard had said that he couldn't allow the test to be made, and he doubted that the Firsts had revealed themselves to the point of being caught on fire.<p>

Pushing away from the wall, he ran his hand through his hair.

Now that they had no test, the humans would be panicking and pointing fingers at each other. If they were uneasy with each other before, they wouldn't trust anything that breaths now. Kate might think that she was in control, but she didn't know what she was up against. She didn't have a clue. They would all turn on her without any proof of who was or wasn't human.

Why the hell did that bother him so much?

Walking back and forth, Sam recalled the deal Kate had presented him with. If he helped her find out who was human and who wasn't, and help her kill them, she would let him live and help him get off Earth. _Possibly_. He couldn't forget that word. There was still a chance that she would decide to kill him or that he'd be killed by something else, and that he may not be able to get off Earth. His chances could go either way. That was if he accepted Kate Lloyd's deal.

Now if he followed the Firsts orders, things were more in his favor. The Firsts that had replicated Edvard had told him to stay in the shed until They came to get him, or called for him. All he would have to do is aid the Firsts and the others in killing the rest of the humans. Then, after They've repaired Their ship, leave to find the others and bring Them back to Earth to colonize the planet. And if the other ships have already found a suitable planet, They'll colonize Earth anyways. That was if he accepted Edvard's orders.

Repeating everything over and over in his head, he found that he'd hit a wall.

Not once did he go against the Firsts, knowing full well that doing so would likely send him to his death early. Even before the war, he'd listened to Them over the masters when possible. His kind had always watched out for each other. Hadn't They? The Firsts had been the ones to declare that his kind would no longer serve the masters. The Firsts watched out for Them all and promised Them freedom once the war was over. It sounded terrific, until Sam took his master's son as a host. That was about the time his opinion of things took a turn. Were the Firsts truly looking out for all of his kinds well-being, or were They only looking out for Themselves? The only time a First would get involved in a fight was if They had a personal vendetta against the other, or if They were angered beyond belief. Typically, They left the fighting to lower individuals, Things much like Sam who were born later. And if one disobeyed the Firsts, the Firsts killed Them, no questions asked. It was either the Firsts way, or no way at all.

That way of think, Sam realized, was similar to the masters.

Had he in fact gone from one master to another without even knowing it?

Going into Carter's memories, he searched for some hint that the humans had the same type of system, and that Kate was just trying to trick him into believing that he was a slave to the Firsts.

It seemed that humans excelled in fighting and killing each other, in hating each other over differences. But to his surprise, Carter didn't fight because he was made to or because he enjoyed it, but because he _chose _to do so, and he didn't hate people just because, but because of their actions. As for humans in general, it seemed as though each one, whether to a high or low degree, had the ability and were expected to make their own choices.

The thought of having choices was foreign to Sam to the degree that it was almost a frightening aspect. And an intriguing one.

Glancing through the cracks again, he saw that the fire had been put out, only smoking remaining. Things had to be going downhill for the humans by now.

Listening to Kate could end with him being killed, but he'd be making a choice and would be presented with other choices. But if he listened to Edvard, he'd be doing what he'd always done; taking orders from a master.

He shook his head. Never again.

Gritting his teeth, he hurried over to his coat and shrugged it on along with the gloves.

Damn the Firsts and damn his orders. He wanted to leave Earth behind for good, not come back and colonize it. And, much to his surprise, he didn't want to see Kate or any other humans get hurt or replicated. Killing out of defense was a different story, but Kate had been reasonable and willing to make a deal with him even though he could have killed her at any given second. That earned her his respect. But he wasn't sure if he could trust her or not. Hell, could she trust him? There was always a chance that he'd turn on her, or leave her behind to save his own skin. He didn't plan to, but the survival instinct had been burned into his DNA. Under the right circumstances, there was a high probability that he'd leave her behind whether he wanted to or not.

But he'd cross that bridge when he got to it.

Now that he'd made his decision, all he had to do was find a way out of the room. That wouldn't be a problem. Walking to the back wood wall, he kicked it hard. The wood cracked but didn't break. While he was stronger than the average human, his strength was diminished while in an unaltered host. It took another two good kicks before the board he was kicking to split in two , and he went to work on another three boards so that he'd be able to squeeze out into the snow. IT would have been easier to just shift one limb to some more normal – normal for his species, severely abnormal and disfigured for a human – and break the boards in one blow, but he didn't want to deal with the time it would take to heal himself and return to his appearance back to how the host was supposed to look.

It had become colder since he'd been locked in the shed, and windier. If something happened and one of the humans were forced outside, he doubted they would last very long without a heat source, even with a thick coat.

As he stood next to the shed, it occurred to him that simply walking inside might not be the best idea. Unless Kate had told them the truth, the humans would still be wary, if not hostile towards him. If one of them attacked, he wanted something to defend himself with that did not involve revealing what he was. Something told him a poll wouldn't be the best choice, but what would be nice was one of those flamethrowers…

Cautiously he hurried towards the main building, when he suddenly came to a slow stop halfway there. He'd forgotten something, or more correctly, someone. Looking back at the other shed, he debated on whether or not he should get Jameson. Unlike the walk from the crash back to Thule, the friend may be of benefit. That and, though he did not want to admit it, leaving his hosts friend behind didn't sit well with him. Just as Jameson was Carter's friend, Sam felt as though the man was his friend too. At least he could sum it up if asked to strength in numbers.

Groaning, Sam turned around and ran to Jameson's shed.

He reached the door and slammed on it with his fist, the noise lost in the wind. "Jameson?"

"That you, Carter?" Jameson called after a moment.

"Yeah, something's happening inside. There was a fire."

"Shit." The door jiggled but didn't open due to the chains. "Can you open the door from the outside?"

Sam looked down at the chains. Technically he could break the chains if he shifted, but a normal human couldn't so he opted against it. "No."

"Well, how the hell did you get out?"

"I broke some of the boards." Getting an idea, he added, "Go to the back and start kicking the boards, and I'll kick from the outside."

"Got it," Jameson replied.

Sam ran to the back and watched the back wall, waiting for a sign for where Jameson was trying to bust out. To the far left, he saw a board shift ever so slightly and hurried to it. Waiting for it to shift again, he kicked it. With their combined kicking the board eventually loosened enough to pull back and for easily, but it wouldn't break without Sam kicking it with inhuman strength.

Thinking for a moment, he said, "Keep kicking at two more boards. I'm gonna start digging so you can crawl under."

Jameson didn't reply but started at the neighboring board.

Making sure his gloves were fastened tightly, he started digging away at the snow and ice, trying to make enough room for Jameson. As long as the boards could move back and forth enough to adjust to Jameson's size, he would be able to get out. Unfortunately, the process of getting Jameson out was much slower than it had taken Sam to get out and his fingers were getting increasingly colder, the cold getting to them even through the gloves.

"All right, man," Jameson said after a few minutes. "I think I can get through."

Looking at the hole he'd dug, Sam nodded to himself. "Give it a try."

Carefully but quickly, Jameson began crawling under the boards. The wood moved as he went forward, allowing him to get out up to his waist, in which the coat caught on the wood.

"Hang on a second." Grabbing two of the boards, Sam pulled on them, giving Jameson enough room to squeeze through.

Jameson got to his feet. Adjusting his snow cap, he looked around. "Let's get outta here. I might be able to get one of the Snowcats going."

"We can't leave yet, Jameson," Sam said, stopping him from walking off.

The man stared at him in confusion. "Why not?"

"I'm willing to bet that the fire in there destroyed the tests," he began. "Everyone will be pointing fingers at each other."

"Who gives a shit? Fuck 'em, and let's get outta here!" he exclaimed.

"What about Kate?"

"What about her?" Jameson rolled his eyes and shook his head. "Man, don't tell me you want to risk your ass over some girl."

It did, but not for the reason Jameson was likely thinking. "It's got nothing to do with that. She stopped the others from killing us, brought us food, and assured us that she'd get us the test to prove that we're human and could come inside. You telling me that you can just leave her behind to deal with everyone in there?"

Gritting his teeth, the copilot cursed a few times, pacing back and forth in the snow. "Fine, we'll go help. How exactly do you plan on gettin' in there? They aren't going to let us walk on in."

"I've already thought about that," he answered. "Follow me."

Asking no questions, Jameson followed Sam over to the main building, careful to avoid being seen through the windows.

The way Sam had it figured, if they watch for long enough, maybe they'd get luck and hear that one people inside – preferably someone with a flamethrower – would come outside to check on them. If it were Kate, he could just talk to her and inform her that he would accept her deal.

Peeking through the window, Sam saw that everyone had gathered in the room, and that Kate was shining a light in everyone's mouth while Lars and Peder stood behind her with the flamethrowers, guarding her. After shining the light in Jonas's mouth, she nodded and he moved to stand behind Lars and Peder.

"What're they doin'?" Jameson asked quietly.

"Don't know." He shrugged. "Maybe they found another way to test who is and isn't human."

"By checkin' their teeth?"

Again he shrugged, but a moment later it clicked. Kate had discovered he wasn't the real Carter because of his lack of earring. Metal inside a piercing. She knew that They couldn't replicate inorganic material so…

"She's checking for fillings," he said more to himself. That was the only thing that he could think of.

"Why the hell is she checking for fillings?"

"Shh," he hissed, trying to hear what was being said inside, which was possible due to his species' good hearing.

If the people inside talking louder, and if the wind not blowing louder. Because of so many outside sounds and lack of volume coming from those inside, he couldn't hear a thing.

Kate got to Adam and he said something to her, looking helpless. After she replied, he reluctantly opened up and, after shining the light around a few times, Kate ushered him to the other side of the room and away from the others. He must not have fillings, and that made him a candidate for not being human. Sander came next and he said something but, from Kate's expression, she wasn't impressed nor in the mood. He too went to stand with Adam. Edvard – one he knew personally to be one of his kind – went over to Sander and Adam without Kate having to say a word, likely because he knew that there was no way he could pass for human with no fillings. Colin was last and opened his mouth before going over to the "non-human" group.

Standing away from the group, Kate looked at everyone then at the floor briefly. Then, turning her attention to Jonas, she said something that made him reluctant and repeat what was said to Lars, who nodded and stood, walking to the door.

"Hey, I think they're comin' to get us or somethin'," Jameson commented, backing away from the window slowly.

"Yeah." Looking around, Sam spotted another building with the door open and smacked his friends arm. "C'mon."

They rushed to the other building, ducking inside and pressing their backs to the wall by the door. This was the best chance they'd have to get Lars' flamethrower.

His air coming out in visible puffs, Jameson asked, "What's the plan?"

He thought for a second. "You grab Lars and pull him off to the side, I'll knock him out."

"And if Jonas comes in first?"

"Why would he?" Sam question quietly. "Lars is the one with the weapon."

Jameson shrugs in agreement, understanding that it would make more sense for Lars to be the first to check things out.

Over the wind, Sam heard voices and recognized them as belonging to Lars and Jonas. It wouldn't be long until they realized that they were gone, and hopefully one of them would notice their foot prints in the snow and investigate the building they were hiding in.

Sure enough, after a short minute the two men came to the shed Jameson had been in and went inside. Before long Lars and Jonas were back outside talking back and forth in Norwegian worriedly.

Risking getting caught, Sam peaked through the open doorway and saw Jonas pointing at the shed he'd been kept in then trying to get Lars to come back inside. Rather than listen, the burly man shook his head, announcing something in Norwegian and looks down at the ground, following the foot prints leading to the building Sam and Jameson were in.

Pulling back inside and moving so that Jameson could grab him, he nodded to his friend who in turn nodded back, ready.

Footsteps could now be heard and in a matter of seconds, Lars was inside the doorway and Jameson got ready. The moment the man stepped inside, he lunged, dragging the stunned dog keeper inside, knocking the gun portion of the flamethrower from his hands. Moving quickly before Lars could recover and call for help, Sam got around in front of him and threw his fist into the man's face a few times. It only would have taken one or two hits, even for a human, but he wanted to be sure. They didn't need him waking up and causing a scene.

Once he was sure that Lars was out cold, Sam took a step back, flexing his fingers, pretending like his hand hurt when it really only ached slightly.

They wasted no time in taking the man's weapons, Sam taking the flamethrower while Jameson took the gun. With each of them carrying a weapon they stood better chances of getting inside with few problems. That is, unless Peder got jumpy and tried to kill them with his flamethrower.

Sam didn't know what exactly to expect. What he did know for certain was that once the Firsts in Edvard realized that he wasn't on Their side, all hell was going to break lose.

* * *

><p>Kate was tired and her head throbbed, the ache singular to everything else. Having been awake for nearly two days straight she was starting to feel the exhaustion set in to the point where going to bed, even with everything going on, sounded tempting. But she wasn't about to go to sleep, not until these Things were dead and she was safe. And with the men egging Peder on, she knew that she wasn't safe at all.<p>

"Peder," she warned, standing next to him and keeping one eye on him and the other on the guys in front of her. "Whatever they're saying, don't listen to them."

Looking to the other three men, Adam nodded. "We're not the enemy, Kate! You need our help!"

"How do I know you aren't one of the Things trying to kill us? No, it's best that you all just stay here until Carter and Jameson get in here."

"Why?" implored Sander. "Because you say that's how it's going to be?" Switching to speaking in Norwegian, he began talking to Peder again, Edvard and Colin joining in.

"It's safer if things stay as they are for now until we'll sure of who is who," she said to Peder, praying that he would continue listening to. "Once Lars and Jonas get back…"

"How do you know they're coming back at all?" Edvard questioned.

She glared at him. "They'll get here."

Sander shook his head. "No they won't. It's taken them too long. Something must have gone wrong."

Refusing to hear it, she said, "Just give them a few more minutes."

Sander sneered at her, eyes returning to Peder and spoke to him in another language.

All Kate could do was plead with Peder not to listen, to understand that she was doing the right thing for now. She understood that everyone was scared, but they had to trust her. Then again, how could they trust her when she didn't trust them? She was at a loss for what to do, she was scared, tired, starving, cold, and too stressed for her own good, and with how things were going she was damn sure she wouldn't stay in control for very long.

"Damn it, Peder, don't listen to them!" she pleaded. To the others, she shouted, "Shut up!"

Suddenly there was a loud banging on the door, causing everyone to jump and look at the door, stunned into silence.

From outside, Jonas shouted, "Let me in! Let me in!"

Hurrying to the door, Kate looked through the window and hesitated a second before giving Peder a nodded.

Needing no further permission, the man pulled the door opened and Jonas pushed his way in before it was even open a crack.

"What happened?" Kate asked, looking behind him. "Where's Lars?"

Breathing heavily, ice and snow caking his beard, he stammered, "They escaped. The Americans escaped!"

"Where's Lars?" she repeated.

"I don't know. He went on ahead to look for the two and… they got him, or something got him. It was too dark to tell, but I think it was the Americans," Jonas answered, walking further into the room.

Kate felt like kicking herself for even thinking that she could trust Sam to some degree. She'd tried to deal with him and he'd run off, doing God knows what to Lars. It was a mistake to even try to make a deal. How could she have been so stupid as to try to deal with something that wasn't human?

Seeing the problem as some sort of opportunity to seize control, Sander took a step forward. "You need us, Kate. We need to barricade ourselves in here. Now."

It wouldn't matter if they barricaded themselves in because as Sam said, one of the men with her wasn't human. Either way they'd be stuck with one of the Things. But if she were honest, she would feel better outside with Sam running lose rather than be stuck inside without knowing who was who.

Grabbing Peder's arm, she exclaimed, "Do not listen to them!"

Abruptly both Sander and Edvard starting going on in Norwegian, and Kate saw Peder's stance falter as their words – whatever they may be – began getting to him.

"One of them could be one of those Things!" she reminded him, keeping her eyes locked on the men in front of her but feeling more and more nervous standing next to Peder. "Do not trust them!"

They went on yelling at each other until the breaking of a window brought them to silence, and they all looked back and forth at each other.

Tearing his eyes from the hallway, Colin said quietly, "Back room…"

Forgetting about the men he was supposed to be watching, Peder tore off out of the room to find the two Americans and Kate made out Lars' name as he rambled wildly. He blamed the Sam and Jameson for killing Lars – assuming Lars was dead. And thinking about it, it occurred to her that Jonas said the _Americans _had escaped. Plural. Why would the Thing that had replicated Carter bust out Jameson? Unless Jameson had been replicated too. She was confused.

Just as Kate was about to run around the corner and follow Peder into the hallway, the man came to a dead stop, raising his flamethrower and cursing madly.

Somewhere down the hall, Sam shouted, "Put it down!"

"Where is Lars?" demanded Peder, ignoring Sam.

"I said put it the fuck down!"

"Don't listen to his, Peder!" Edvard warned, back pressed firmly to the wall. "They killed Lars!"

Kate stared at him, suddenly unsure of what Sam's intentions were. "We don't know that they killed Lars."

Sander stared at her dumbfounded. "Who's side or you on?"

She really didn't know.

"Put down the flamethrower!" Sam repeated, leaving no room for debate.

Edvard shook his head. "Don't do it!"

Glancing back and forth between Edvard and Sam, sweet beading his forehead, Peder's finger tightened over the flamethrowers trigger…

And two loud bangs rang out through the building, and Peder dropped to the ground, unmoving but groaning in pain.

Kate could only stare in shock. Seeing and knowing that people in Thule had died because of those Things were one thing, but seeing a man be shot… an entirely different feeling ran through her, and she swore the prospect of getting shot was more frightening.

Shocked off his pedestal, Edvard struggled to regulate his breathing as he watched his friend bleeding on the floor. But Kate swore that for a second he looked pissed, and not about Peder being shot.

Swallowing, Edvard inched out from behind the wall, holding his hands in front of him as he stepped into the hallway. "I just want to check on my friend," he explained to Sam slowly.

To her surprise, Sam ordered tensely, "Back up."

"Pardon?"

"I said," Sam began more slowly. "Back up."

Rather than listen, Edvard straightened and his expression was nothing short of pure anger and… disappointment? "I always knew you'd betray us."

Kate's brows nit together in confusion, but she didn't have time to question the two.

Back towards where Sam was, Jameson shouted, "The tank's gonna blow!"

There was hardly enough time to get to cover before Peder's flamethrower exploded, shaking the building, leaving everyone's ears ringing and temporarily deaf. Smoke flooded the air and caused everyone to cough and gasp for fresh air, their shared exhaustion making it feel that much worse.

Blinking away tears caused by the smoke, Kate looked over to the hallway entrance and nausea swept over her. Peder was charred, nothing more than a burnt corpse. And the smell… it took all she had not to vomit. Through the haze, she saw Edvard laying on his back, the force of the explosion having hurled him into the wall and into unconsciousness.

She didn't like the guy, but that didn't mean she wanted him to die so she crawled forward to see how badly he was hurt.

"Kate," Sam called, stepping into her view, holding the flamethrower while Jameson was armed with the gun. "Don't."

She stared at him, unsure if he was friend or foe. "He's hurt."

Aiming the flamethrower at Edvard, he looked at Kate. "Get away, Kate."

The look he sent her made her blood run cold and she bolted to her feet and backed away, understanding what Sam was telling her.

Edvard wasn't human.

Coming up to stand beside her, Sam stated the obvious. "We have a deal."

"Good to know." Eying Edvard nervously, she asked, "Now what? You kill him?"

Sam didn't answer, seeming to hesitate. He was still worried about being killed.

"You're going to kill him?" Sander exclaimed in disbelief. "He may be human!"

"He isn't," Sam replied tightly.

"You don't know that!" Colin hissed. "You can't kill him!"

Clenching his jaw, Sam leveled the flamethrower. "Watch me."

Before he could pull the trigger, Jonas and Adam stepped in the line of fire.

"Get out of the way," Sam ordered angrily.

"No, you can't just murder someone!" Adam replied while Jonas leaned down to grab ahold of Edvard's arms, trying to drag him back to the rec room.

"You were all for murderin' us when we got back," Jameson reminded him coldly.

"That was a different situation," explained Sander, coming to the front to block Sam from kill Edvard.

Sam refused to budge when they tried to drag the unconscious creature past him. "Unless you want to burn with him, get the fuck out of the way."

Now it was Kate's turn to speak up. "No, you can't kill them too. That's not part of the deal."

"Kate," Sam began slowly as to make sure she heard every word. "A few innocent people dying worth it. Trust me." At least last bit, he took his eyes off of Edvard to look at her.

A move Jonas and Edvard took advantage of

Out of the corner of her eye she noticed that Jonas and Adam had quickly dragged Edvard into the rec room. "Hey! What are you doing?" she exclaimed, starting to follow them inside.

Sam grabbed her arm, forcing her behind him so that he and Jameson could go in first, and she tensed, feeling acutely uncomfortable from the action. He might be help her, but he still wasn't human.

"Get away from him, now," Sam ordered, unable to get a clear shot at Edvard with Sander continuing to block him, while Colin stood in the way of Jameson and his gun.

Ignoring, Sam, Adam slipped out from under Edvard's arm, Jonas now taking the man's full weight, when suddenly Edvard's arm slid out from the sleeve, leaving the man holding one arm. And not only had it just slid off, but centipede-like limbs broke through the skin, a mouth forming at the shoulder.

"Holy!..." The arm began crawling up towards his face and the panic set in. "Get it off me! Get it off me!"

Sander and Colin ran, choosing to flee rather than help. Kate tried to get to Jonas but Sam yanked her back, causing her to stumble and fall backwards to the ground.

"Burn it!" Jameson yelled as he fired at the Thing.

Sam tried, but it only produces a brief flame then nothing at all.

The centipede-arm finally reached Jonas's face and latched onto his mouth, causing the man to drop to the floor in agony.

Convulsing in the center of the rec room, Edvard's other hand separated, and another centipede-like-arm darted out of the room before anyone could kill it. But that was the least of their problems. What remained of the arms elongated and became similar to disfigured spider legs, and his legs bent and broke in impossible angles while something else burst from his chest, something far nastier.

Seeming to recognize the tentacle-like appendage that burst from Edvard's chest, Sam flipped the pool table onto its side effortlessly, receiving brief stares of surprise from Kate and Jameson.

Just then the tentacle sprouted a barbed mouth at the end and whipped around, narrowly missing Jameson as he ducked behind the table.

Getting over her shock, Kate crawled over to Sam and examined the back of the flamethrower, quickly spotting the problem.

"The fuel line's disconnected," she yelled over the chaos and hellish screams coming from the Edvard-thing. Unable to fix the problem with him squirming around, she added, "Take it off!"

Asking no questions, he did as he was told and relinquished the flamethrower so that she could work on it.

Her work was cut short when the tentacle stabbed through the pool table, forcing Sam out of the cover and onto his back, bringing him face to face with Edvard, who snarled and screamed in rage.

With the Thing's attention now on Sam, Adam saw his chance to get away and ran out of his hiding spot in a mad dash to the hall. Bad move.

Noticing Adam, Edvard lashed out with the tentacle, tripping him to the floor.

Adam landed hard on his chest and turned over to crawled back away from the creature in front of him but was cut short, an agonizing scream ripped from him as the barbed mouth of the tentacle embedded in his chest before pulling back with a chunk of meat in its jaws.

"Adam!" Kate screamed, wanting to help her friend but unable to.

Jameson rose to his feet, needing to do something, and fired on the creature with the handgun, and only succeeded in pissing it off. Just as it had done to Adam, the tip of the tentacle struck him in the chest, close to his heart. In shock, the man collapsed against the wall and slid to the floor.

"Derek!" Forgetting about the fight, much to Kate's shock and horror, Sam went to the fallen copilot and put his hands against the gaping, bleeding wound.

Between Adam's panicked, agonized cries and the Edvard-things hellish screams, Kate thought she'd lose her mind completely but somehow managed to keep it together enough to reattach the fuel line. Slipping her slender arms through the straps, she hoisted the heavy weapon onto her back and stepped out from the cover, only to find herself frozen in disbelief and horror.

The Edvard-thing was on top of Adam, their faces merging together. She didn't know if she wanted to cry or scream, so she just pulled the trigger and sent a stream of fire after the monster as it hurried out of the room and down the hall, taking Adam with it. She chased after it in a futile attempt to help Adam but by the time she got out of the rec room they were both gone.

A single tear slid down her dirty cheek but she quickly wiped it away. She'd cry later. Taking as deep of a breath as she could despite the smoke, she went back into the rec room and confronted Jonas and the creature latched onto his face. One of the man's eyes was bloody and unrecognizable, and his hand had almost completely merged with the centipede-arm. It occurred to her that no matter how gruesome, it was humane to put him out of his misery and set him on fire, tuning out the inhuman cries.

That only left one other victim in the room.

A lump in her throat, she walked over to Jameson.

The copilot was gurgling blood, a small stream trickling down the corner of his mouth. To her complete surprise, Sam was still trying to stop the bleeding, telling the man he'd be all right. It didn't make sense to her. Why did he give a damn at all? The sight made her forget he was a monster for a second. That was something she couldn't allow herself to forget. Still, she made a mental note to ask him about this and more about his kind. From what she'd witnessed, Sam wasn't the same as the other Things.

Before taking his last few breaths, Jameson gave his friend a slight nod as his eyes at last went blank.

Sam took his hands off the wound slowly, gazing down at the blood coating them before rising to his feet and looking at Kate. After a moment, he nodded and stepped out of the room and into the hallway.

Angry that she wanted to ask if Sam was okay, she set Jameson's body on fire, taking no chances.

She stared at the rec room, now an inferno, recalling what it had once looked like before these Things turned life into hell, and walked out. Sam reappeared in the hallway, wielding an axe that made her feel less than comfortable.

Eying the weapon, she asked, "Can I trust you not to kill me with that? Or anything else?"

He locked eyes with her momentarily before looking at her weapon. "I could ask you the same thing. Mind pointing that somewhere else?"

Only then did she notice that she had it aimed directly towards him, and reluctantly pointed it in another direction. "You didn't answer my question. Can I trust you?"

"Actually…" Sam was silent for a few seconds before he finally met Kate's eyes again. "I've been asking myself that very same question."

* * *

><p><em><strong>Reviews are welcome. In fact, they're encouraged!<strong>_


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: **_**So longer chapters are better, I'll do my best to do that. And I'm happy people liked chapter 6. I was concerned that it would be a little crappy.**_

_**Also, I'm sorry if there are spelling or grammar errors, but I haven't been feeling good for the past few days and while I try to catch mistakes, I have probably missed a few things in this chapter and the last one because my head has been killing me.  
><strong>_

* * *

><p>Sam wanted to find the Edvard-Thing and find him fast while the two Firsts were still bound together. If They split and one of Them went into a new host than he and Kate would be facing two problems rather than one. Oddly enough, he was willing to bet that either way Kate had a better chance of surviving than he did. After the look the Edvard-Thing gave him, there was no question that It wanted him dead at all costs. Kate's death would just be a bonus.<p>

Gripping the axe as he walked down the smoke filled hallway with Kate, he couldn't help but feel a little vulnerable. In any other dangerous situation, he would have mutated a limb, such as an arm, to be more lethal and dangerous with claws or something. But Kate was rattled enough. Doing that would just add to the issues. But he'd be damned if he would just let one of the Firsts kill him. If need be, he'd mutate to handle the situation, because the axe would be rather useless.

"What was that back there?" Kate asked out of nowhere.

"What was what? The Thing Edvard was replicated by?"

She shook her head. "Why did you try to help Jameson? You had to know he was beyond help."

He said nothing at first, because he wasn't too sure of why he tried to help. There had been no reason for him to even try. Shrugging, hoping to keep it simple, he said, "Carter would have tried to help him."

"You're not Carter," she reminded him coldly.

So a simple answer wouldn't do. Keeping his eyes and ears open, he explained, "When We take a host, We also gain their memories and some personality traits. It's one of the many reasons why it's preferred to take a cruel or ruthless host."

Following along, she commented, "Carter didn't seem ruthless. Why'd you go after him?"

"He appeared to be a natural leader," he replied. "And at the time I thought you and the others would be more likely to listen to me if you thought I was him. That didn't exactly work out."

"So," she began, going over it all in her head. "When you replicated Carter, you felt that Jameson was your friend too?"

"Essentially, yes."

"And that's also why you didn't want any trouble and just wanted to leave?"

He sighed. "Not exactly."

"What is it then?" she questioned.

"It's complicated," Sam replied, not wanting to get into it at the moment.

"I've got time," she pressed, wanting answers.

Gritting his teeth, he said, "Look, we make it out of Thule alive, I'll tell you whatever you want to know about me. Until then, only ask what you think you need to know about the situation at hand."

Kate didn't appear to appreciate his tone but understood that now was not the time for sharing personally history so she changed the topic. "What's the best way to kill one of these Things? You called them Firsts, right?"

Sam nodded. "Fire's the most efficient method, anything short of that and my kind can heal. A bullet will be pushed out of the body and the wound will close, a stab wound will heal. Basically fire is the only way to be sure."

"So what's with the axe?" she asked, looking at the weapon.

"We do feel pain," he informed her. "While the axe may not kill the Firsts or the others of my kind, it might be enough to slow Them down for you to get a clear shot with the flamethrower. Other than that, the axe won't do…" He came to a pause when the lights suddenly went out and they were plunged into darkness. "Much," he finished.

Hearing the wind blowing wildly outside, Kate speculated, "Could just be the weather. Or maybe it was the fire."

"Or the Firsts destroyed the generator," Sam added, looking at Kate briefly.

Swallowing, she continued forward, pulling out a small flashlight. "How the lights went off isn't important. C'mon."

Using the narrow beam of light to light their way, Kate led them down the dark hall, the light of the flames dimming the farther they walked.

"How many are left?" she asked quietly.

He inclined his head to the side and replied, "Three Firsts, and at least five other lower levels."

"You'd qualify as a lower level?"

He nodded. "Yeah, since I was born and not created. Our social status is really very simple."

"You'll have to explain it to me if we survive this," she said, peering into a darkened room.

And he would explain, though he was beginning to doubt they would both survive.

When they neared the middle of another hallway, Sam heard something skitter by and grabbed Kate's shoulder. The result was her violently pulling away and glaring at him.

"Do not touch me," the woman warned.

"Listen!" he hissed, irritated by her reaction.

Listening, Kate heard something walking around in the narrow room to her left and tightened here grip on the flamethrower while casting the light in the mostly empty room. Sam knew It was in there, he just couldn't find it, even with his enhanced vision and hearing. While the room was practically empty, there were enough places to hide.

Doubting he was hearing things, he turned back towards Kate to tell her to watch herself, when something caught his eye and he backed away from the wall.

Catching the movement, Kate cast the light towards the wall and directly onto the centipede-arm.

Sam swung the axe, wasting no time, and spit the Thing in two, the axe embedding in the wall. Rather than dying, the creature squealed and both halve skittered off in different directions.

"When It starts joining back together, burn it!" he ordered to Kate and she nodded, giving Sam the flashlight so he could track at least one half.

Crawling to the wall in front of them, one half came to a pause, squealing angrily, while the other half backed up to it, tiny tendrils coming from both and latching onto each other, pulling themselves back together.

"Now!"

Kate pulled the trigger, and the creature wailed in pain, falling to the floor, squirming briefly before going limp.

Coughing due to the smoke, Kate asked, "So if I cut your arm off, you could reattach it?"

Sam shrugged. "More or less, yeah. But don't get any ideas." He had no intention of being a lab rat.

"Just curious," she replied innocently before turning away to go down the hall.

When Sam made to grab the axe but Kate stopped him. "If you cut it in half and it was still alive, couldn't that mean that the blood cells were still living and could be hostile?"

He looked at the bloody axe and hesitated. It was partially true… mostly true. It surprised him that he didn't think of it too and had to be asked by Kate. Then again, he never had to worry about his own kind reacting negatively towards him. Sighing, he pulled his hand back, opting to leave the weapon.

That seemed to be answer enough to the paleontologist so she continued back into the hall, Sam lighting the way with the flashlight.

"How can you kill your own kind?" Kate asked quietly, backing him groan.

Sick of her questions, he threw it back at her. "How can you humans kill _your _own kind?"

That brought her to a pause and she glanced at him before muttering, "Point taken."

From somewhere in the building, a man screamed in terror.

Kate looked behind her while Sam looked ahead, neither sure of which direction it had come from.

"That sounded like Sander," Kate murmured, and Sam nodded to himself.

"When the Firsts came to talk to me, They mentioned that Sander would make an excellent host. Detached, cold, out for his own benefit; the ideal host," he said.

He almost heard Kate swallow nervously. "So we probably have three Firsts walking around in a host of their own."

"Yeah."

Staring down the hall where the fire kept the shadows back, she thought out loud, "Sounded like he was behind us. Maybe the radio room… I don't know."

"Then we'll double back," Sam decided. "Check each room just to be safe."

Cautiously making their way back the way they came, carefully avoiding the spreading fire. It was dark and quiet in each room, and that didn't make either of them feel comfortable. Rather it did the exact opposite. Someone had screamed earlier, most likely Sander. To be followed by silence was not comforting. When they came to the conference room, they cautiously stepped inside, forced to go in rather than just scanning with the flashlight due its larger size. It looked empty, but looks could be deceiving.

Sam glanced at the window momentarily before heading to the center of the room while Kate investigated the left end. A familiar scent laced the air and he knew that the First had been in the room recently.

"Watch yourself, Kate," he warned and she took it to heart, tensing and paying more attention to what was in front of her as well as behind her.

A map on the table in front of him temporarily caught Sam's attention. Shining the light on it, he saw the locations of Thule, the U.S. outpost, and the Russian outpost. If any of his kind got to even one of those locations the outcome could be devastating.

But he didn't get the chance to voice his concerns to Kate.

The window shattered, a massive form landing in the room.

Stumbling back to the ground to get out of the way, Sam tensed. In front of him the First using both Edvard and Adam as a host, the two merged together and sharing one grotesque mouth. Seeing the murder in Its eyes, Sam hurried to his feet and bolted out of the room, the Thing hot on his heels as he ran down the hall. He hadn't even stopped to see if Kate had been injured when It bust through the window or if she had been ready with the flamethrower, he just ran. It wasn't interested in Kate at the moment, It just wanted Sam dead. That knowledge was almost enough to make him reconsider who he was siding with. What kept him from turning his back on Kate, however, was the fact that she wouldn't kill him just because she felt like it. At least he hoped she wouldn't.

Without considering where he might end up, he ran into the first room he could when out of view of the First for a second and ended up in the kitchen. Stopping the doors from swinging, he backed up, looking for a place to escape or to hide. Since escaping was out of the question, he opted for hiding, and started for the door to the food stock room, then stopped and turned around darting behind a shelf full of canned food. At least there he would have more room to maneuver if need be.

Throwing concern for Kate's sanity out the window since she wasn't in sight, he allowed his right arm to mutate and the fingers elongated, a bone-like claw bursting from the tip of each finger. He wasn't going to go down without a fight.

A low growl came from the hallway and Sam backed up further behind the shelf as the revolving doors opening, the split-faced Thing coming into the kitchen. Not chancing a look around the shelf, Sam just listened and waited.

The Thing stalked inside and sounded to be heading for the stock room, but stopped suddenly. For a few long seconds, there was nothing but the sound of the Firsts heavy, inhuman snarling and breathing. Then to Sam's horror, It started coming closer to the shelf.

As the Thing came into Sam's full view, he felt his heart – his hosts heart – begin to race in fear of what was about to happened to him. He'd rather be burned to death than become a host for the First.

The split-faced Thing turned in his direction and each set of eyes narrowed, a deep snarl emerging from its deformed mouth.

Sam rolled his shoulders, bracing himself. "Come on, you son of a bitch," he hissed, ready to get it over with.

The Thing growled angrily and crouched, preparing to lunge but wasn't moving fast enough for Sam who did not wish to prolong his eminent death.

"Come on!" he shouted.

And It did. With a howl of rage, It charge…and then went up in flames, its howl of rage changing to one of agony as Kate set It on fire. Narrowly avoiding the flaming First, Sam quickly climbed up the neighboring shelf to get out of dodge.

Desperate to put out the flames that had engulfed It's body, the Thing broke through the wall and hurled Itself into the snow, rolling around in pain.

Kate wasn't about to let It survive and followed after it, pulling the trigger and realizing a stream of fire. Even after It stopped squirming, she wouldn't let up.

Running after her, Sam put his left hand on her shoulder. "Kate, that's enough. You can stop," he said gently so that she wouldn't turn the flamethrower on him.

Slowly, she backed off with the flames and lowered the weapon breathing heavily.

"You okay?"

She nodded, then glanced at him, tensing when she saw his deformed right hand and moving away from him. "Are _you _all right?"

Looking down at his hand, he sighed. "I will be after a little while. To be honest, I'm surprise you didn't try to burn me too."

"Yeah, well, I figured that if It was still trying to attack you when I was out of sight then you really were on my side and not just pretending to be."

He only nodded, focusing more on getting his hand back to normal, trying to get over the fact that he wasn't dead. But there were still two Firsts around and others, presenting plenty of chances for both him and Kate to be killed.

* * *

><p>Seeing the Edvard-Thing go after Sam like that was enough to convince Kate that Sam was most likely on her side and that she didn't have to worry about being stabbed in the back. Did she trust him? Not really, but more so than she did earlier. For a second in fact, it was almost easy to forget that he wasn't human. Then she saw his deformed hand and abruptly remembered what he was.<p>

A low rumble caught her attention and both she and Sam looked to the side and saw Sander in one of the Snowcats driving off. She frowned. It had been him screaming, hadn't it? How had he… it then occurred to her that he most likely had not gotten away, but had been replicated by one of the Things. She looked to Sam for confirmation to her silent question.

Sparing a glance at her, he confirmed her fears. "That's not Sander." Coming to a run, he started towards one of the Snowcats. "We have to stop him from getting to the ship."

"Why?" she called, chasing after him. "It couldn't have possibly been fixed by now, could it?"

Reaching the Snowcat, he said as he climbed in, "I may have neglected to mention something."

"And what didn't you mention?" she demanded, tossing the flamethrower into the back before getting into the passenger's seat.

Sam got to work fixing the wires that had been cut to prevent anyone from leaving quickly. "There's a backup engine. Not enough to get very far, but enough to get into space. We didn't want to use it in case We ran into a problem once off world, but I don't think the First gives a damn about running into problems in space. Once clear of Earth, he can get a message out to the other ships."

Kate stared at him dumbfounded. "You're kidding me? Why the hell didn't you mention this earlier?"

"Because I didn't think it would be an option in need of consideration, but I didn't account for the Firsts being desperate." The engine came to life when he connected the certain wires.

"But you said there were three Firsts left, and I just killed one, leaving two others. Wouldn't the one that replicated Sander have to talk things over with the other one?"

"Not necessarily," he replied driving as fast as he could in the Snowcat towards the ship. "They don't question each others decisions. Or They could have agreed to this at some point earlier. We'll never know."

"You should have told me," she stated, irritated.

"Well, I didn't. Get over it."

She didn't know if she wanted to hit him, slap him, kill him, or what. Instead, she sat back and allowed herself to relax just a bit and go over everything in her head. There was a way for the First mimicking Sander to get off Earth, just not get very far once in space. But once in space, It could get a message out to the others of Its kind and they could be facing an invasion. There was no choice left but to stop It, even if that meant dying with It. Of course that didn't mean she wanted to die, but this was much larger than her life now. She was still afraid though.

Pushing away her rising fear of dying, she asked Sam, "Do I get to ask you some questions now?" She didn't care what they talked about, she just needed to talk in order to keep from feeling afraid.

Sam looked at her out of the corner of his eye, and for a second he looked annoyed, but when he actually looked at her for a moment longer that look left and she could have sworn that he knew why she was asking.

"What do you want to know?"

She wanted to know everything, but she settled on a few simple questions. "When were Griggs, Juliette, and Edvard replicated?"

"Griggs was replicated when he was looking for the alcohol in the chopper, giving us enough time to do it quickly. With Juliette, We – myself and the others using Griggs as a host – ambushed her in the shower before We would have left in the chopper." Before Kate could say something, he added, "Not my choice. I wanted to lay low, not replicate the whole team."

Biting her tongue to keep from snapping at him over Juliette, she asked, "And Edvard?"

Sam thought for a moment. "Him I'm not sure about. Most likely he was replicated after the chopper went down. Was he left alone for any length of time?"

She nodded.

"Well there you go. At some point, They got to him."

So They liked to get people along when They replicated them. That much she figured. "How do you replicated people?"

"There are a few ways to do it," he began. "One way is to merge with the host, replicating them from the outside in, which is a more efficient way of doing it. The Thing that was on Jonas was going about it that way. The downside is that it takes much longer and We're left vulnerable."

"And the other way?"

"The other way is to replicated the host from the inside out. That way involves tentacles that We insert into the hosts chest and brain, and the merging comes last. It's exceedingly painful for the host, but much quicker than going about the other way. More merciful in the long run, it just requires that you go into a short hibernation of sorts to allow the body to adjust because it's more intrusive. That's what I did to Carter." He shrugged. "Neither way is pleasant, but quicker is easier on the host in the end. I wouldn't want it to last very long if I were the host."

It was strange that he'd taken what Carter would go through into consideration. She would have expected a monster to act, well, like a monster. It brought another question up. "Why are you so different?"

At that question, he fell silent, and she wondered if he himself knew the answer.

"You said you gain the host's memories, and that Carter's memories and whatnot weren't exactly why you didn't want trouble," she reminded him, hoping to get him to start talking.

Releasing a long sigh, he stared straight ahead and kept his tone even. "At one point I probably would have gone out of my way to kill you," he said matter-of-factly. "You're causing my kind a lot of trouble."

Hoping she didn't sound as nervous as she now felt, she asked, "What changed?"

"Near the end of the war I had to find another host, and presented with the perfect opportunity to replicate the son of one of the masters. I assumed that he'd be just as ruthless as they all were, but I was wrong." Pausing, he gathered his thoughts. "Turns out he wanted to end the war peacefully if possible, and was far from ruthless and cruel. Taking him as a host affected my overall personality and… individualized me, I suppose."

"You make that sound like a bad thing."

"It is a bad thing for my kind," he replied. "We're meant to be ruthless and cruel, not something different." Shaking his head, he continued, "Rather than want every human here dead and rather than replicate them, I almost feel the need to help you, like it's in my blood. I'd prefer not to be different."

Kate actually found herself smiling.

Evidently missing something, Sam stared at her for a long moment. "What?"

She shook her head. "Nothing, it's just… if I didn't know better, I'd say it's only natural for you to feel the way you do. Humans are often lost, confused, afraid, happy, excited, hateful, and loving. Everyone is different, and more often than not we don't want to be different. We want to fit in. Human nature, you know." Sighing, she looked out the side window. "But then I remember that you aren't human, so that explanation is thrown out the window."

Sam said nothing for a while and the silence was less than comfortable. When he finally did speak up, he sounded a little down. "You're right, I'm not human, but I'm not like the others of my kind either. I guess you could say I'm not human, and I'm not one of those Things anymore," he said, adding after a second, "So maybe you could stop shoving me into either category."

Kate had never thought of it that way, and to be honest he didn't seem exactly like one of those Things. Genetically, he was one of Them, but in all other aspects he wasn't. At the same time, however, she didn't know if she could put him in a category all his own, but she was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt for now.

"Let's take care of Sander, then we'll figure you out," she sighed.

He nodded in reluctant agreement, clearly having hoped that she would agree with what he suggested.

She'd thought that he would just let the silence continue, but to her surprise, he asked, "Since you've asked questions about me, can I ask you something?"

Hesitantly, she nodded. "Okay."

"Why did you come to Antarctica?"

The answer seemed obvious. "Sander said there was a structure and a specimen. Seemed too good to pass up."

"Oh."

"Oh?" she repeated. "You expected to hear something different?"

"Actually, yes," Sam admitted. "From Carter's memories, I notice that Sander didn't tell him anything, and the team complained about knowing next to nothing for a while. How much did you know prior to coming here?"

She replied, "Just that there was a structure and a specimen. He wouldn't tell me anything else, and gave me about a minute to decide." Now that she said it out lout, it seemed a little absurd that she would drop everything based on next to no information. But she had to leave.

"You're smart, Kate," Sam complimented sincerely. "Why come without knowing what you could be getting into? Why risk it?"

A lump formed in her throat. "I had to get away for a while. My father had just passed, and everything seemed to go downhill from there because he had been a paleontologist too and got me interested in the field, while my mother never understood why we enjoyed it. As far as she was concerned, I had no business being a paleontologist and should be getting married and having children. I was under too much stress so Antarctica seemed like the perfect place to just escape for a while and do the work I loved."

"Might have been less stressful for you to stay home."

Kate gave him a half smirk. "Yeah, probably."

They finally fell silent, and this time it was more comfortable. She was mildly surprised that she'd told him what she did, but what was the real harm in telling him after he had been honest with her? She hated being confused.

After what could have been minutes or hours, the Snowcat the Sander-Thing had been operating came into view at the mouth to the cave. Slowly they came to a stop but did not get out right away. Twisting around in the seat, Kate dug around under the flamethrower, suddenly praying that they'd taken the right Snowcat.

"What are you looking for?" Sam questioned, watching what she was doing.

Finally finding what she was searching for, she held up a grenade. "Lars had a bunch of them, and I overheard someone yapping about how he always kept at least one in one of the Snowcats he drove before you and the other Things broke out of the ice."

"Huh." Sam shrugged. "Can't hurt to have it."

"Actually, I was kind of hoping it would hurt."

He stared at her before smirking and releasing a short chuckle.

Smiling back briefly, she tucked the grenade into her thick coat before getting out of the Snowcat with the flamethrower, Sam following her lead, and without further questions or comments, they made their way down to the ship. It had been much easier getting down to it the first time around when it was light out, and that was saying something because it had still been difficult, but with only their flashlights shining the way it was damn near impossible to get to the ship quickly.

More than once Kate slipped on the ice, and each time Sam grabbed her arm to hold her steady. She was still uncomfortable with him touching her, even just to help keep her from falling, but she didn't shove him away anymore, trying to put him into a new category of creature.

When she slipped once again, Sam said, "Give me the flamethrower. The weight can be helping you any."

She hesitated, reluctant to hand it over. She still didn't trust him. But he had a point, and her shoulders ached from its weight and it was probably affecting her balance, so she handed it over to him.

Slipping his arms through the straps, he moved in front of her since he now carried the main weapon, and she was relieved that he wasn't walking behind her with it.

At last they crossed the final ladder and came to the massive ship.

Looking to Sam, she saw that he was almost lost in thought as he stared at it, and it hit her that he hadn't seen it in over one-hundred-thousand years. She wondered if it had changed at all, but didn't think to ask him about it once she noticed that the near the center of the ship was open.

Sensing they were short on time, Sam started jogging towards the hatch. "Come on."

She followed after him a second later, hurrying to catch up. It wouldn't be much longer now.

Suddenly the floor beneath her feet began to vibrate, affecting her balance, and a low hum started, growing louder and louder with each passing second as the vibrating became more violent. Then there was a loud clanking sound, like metal falling into place.

Sam came to a quick stop, looking back at Kate, and his eyes widened. "Run!"

Sparing a glance behind her, adrenalin flooded her system. Vent-like plates were shifting upward, and Kate had a gut feeling that she should be at the hatch by the time they all opened and tore off running after Sam, no more than five feet behind him. With the intense shaking of the ship, it was hard to remain upright, let alone run fast. She dared not look behind her but could hear the vents opening closer and closer to her until the one beneath her feet shifted, making her try to run faster. But not fast enough.

The next vent – the last one – was halfway up by the time she got to it and she jumped, trying get over it but didn't make it, barely managing to grab onto its edge. A glance below revealed nothing but darkness. It could have been five feet, it could have been fifty feet, she didn't know. She did know that she was slipping though.

Just as she lost her grip, Sam came into view, gripping her hand tightly, struggling to get a good grip due to the height of the vent and the ice coating everything.

"Pull yourself up!" he shouted, trying to get enough traction to drag her up.

"I'm trying!" Then she noticed that her glove was becoming looser and looser. She hadn't tightened them when she put them on because she had been in too much of a hurry. "Shit! Sam, I'm slipping!"

"I've got you, Kate, hold on!" he assured her, panic lacing his voice.

Her palm was almost visible now, and with both of them wearing wet, icy gloves neither could get a good grip on each other. And then her glove fell off completely and she slid down into the darkness.

"Kate!"

That was the last thing she heard before hit the ground, and then her world went dark.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Reviews are welcome. In fact, they're encouraged!<strong>_


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: **_**This chapter was surprisingly difficult to write, partially because of the snow and ice leaving me with no electric, thus leaving me unable to look things up on the internet :( Also, this would have been posted earlier, but yeah, no electric. The only reason I'm even able to update at all is because my family bought a small generator to power up the Wi-Fi, TV/Blu-ray, the heat lights for my reptiles, and the freezer. Unfortunately, I still have no heat so my fingers are numb while writing this lol**_

* * *

><p>"Kate!" Sam shouted into the darkness. The fall wasn't long enough that it could kill her, but long enough that she could be seriously hurt.<p>

Angrily he hit the vent. If he could he'd go down after her, but he couldn't. Looking down the vent one last time, he pushed away and headed for the open hatch. As he looked for the First, he'd look for her too if only to prove that he was different and in a category of his own.

Shining the flashlight down the hatch, he saw nothing. In order to be able to go down the ladder, he put the back of the light in his mouth and held onto the flamethrower nozzle with one hand as he carefully descended to the deck bellow.

It was almost strange to be back inside the ship after having left it over one-hundred-thousand years ago. There was no ice inside, nor any snow. It was exactly the same as They'd left it, only colder and less welcoming. Rather than coming back to the ship to leave with the others, he'd come back to kill the First and stop It from getting back to space. Never would he have thought that he'd be doing something like this, and in the back of his mind he still wondered if he had made the right decision.

He shook his head clear of those thoughts. Too late to turn back now.

Stepping off the ladder, Sam took the light from his mouth and looked around. He almost didn't need it. The ships interior lights had come on due to the backup engine being powered up, shining at least a little light through the corridor. Bright lights hadn't been needed on the ship, however, because both his kind and his master's species had better night vision than most other races. The lack of decent light wouldn't do Kate any good though. If she was even okay. Sam clicked off the light and cautiously moved down the corridor.

If he were in the First's position, he'd want to be at the ships controls to get off world as fast as possible. Unless he'd set the ship to autopilot, in which case he'd be looking for the intruders – Sam and Kate. He came to the decision that the second case was more likely. The First would want to make them pay for the trouble they'd caused It and would not tolerate them on the ship. It was likely that he or Kate would be found by the First, rather than find It.

There was a quiet skittering sound behind him and he swung around, flamethrower ready. But there was nothing there. It could have been a part of the ship that had come loose from it powering up, or it could have been one of his kind. There was no way he could know, but he certainly wasn't about to let his guard down.

Sam recalled the corridor he was in as one leading to the area where Kate had fallen and called out, "Kate?" His voice echoed throughout the corridor, distorting where the sound had originally come from.

There was no reply, but up ahead a shadow moved.

Unsure whether it was Kate or not, but doubting that it was her, he proceeded with caution, finger on the flamethrowers trigger. "Kate?"

Rounding the dark corridor, he saw a silhouette at the end no more than twenty feet away. A silhouette that most definitely did not belong to Kate.

"I must say that I'm amazed to see you here in one piece," the Sander-Thing commented. "I would have thought my brother would have torn you to pieces and then replicated you. You're lucky you have Kate to watch after you," he added coldly as he stepped into the light, forcing Sam to take a step back. "Where is Kate, by the way?"

"Why should I tell you?" he asked, wondering why he hadn't he hadn't just blown the First away upon seen him. He was plenty close enough.

"I was under the impression that you were looking for her, that's all," he replied defensively. Hands clasped behind his back, he took a step forward. "In fact, I was willing to help you search for her.

Sam hesitated, his finger slipping off the trigger for the briefest second. "You'd help me look for her? Why?" he demanded, uncertain of the Things motives.

The Sander-Thing explained, casually leaning against the wall, "It's quite obvious that you don't wish for any harm to come to here, my friend. I can only assume that the feelings and memories and whatnot of your chosen host are the source of all this, but I care little about that, what I care about is have you back on my side – your races side. These humans are pathetic, lowly creatures, but if it will ensure your loyalty, I am willing to allow Kate to live and be your… pet, if you will." The Sander-Thing smirked. "You remember those, don't you?"

Sam did remember. On occasion They would allow a few individuals of another species They come into contact with to live, but he doubted those unlucky individuals would call it living. They were kept as pets and slaves, doing whatever They wished for them to do. Some were so mistreated that they'd killed themselves. Before Sam changed and became different, he'd had a few so called "pets", and after he changed he'd let them go, feeling far too guilty to let their pain continue. Of course their freedom was short lived, as the others and the Firsts got a hold of them and slaughtered them. That type of life wasn't something he wished for Kate. He'd kill her himself before he let that happen to her if only to put her out of her misery.

Something about his expression must have told the First that he didn't like the idea because the Sander-Thing sighed. "I see that making her a pet is not an option. We could always bring her with us and have her replicated."

Sam glared at him. "I don't think so."

"Oh, come now, what good is a human?" the First exclaimed. "They are short-lived, fearful, pathetic creatures that are only good for replication. We are far more superior. _You _are superior! Why ally yourself with them?"

He was superior, Sam didn't doubt that, and for a second he considered the Firsts words. Human did not live very long – less than one-hundred years – and so fearful at times they were willing to turn on each other, and though he didn't think the entire species was pathetic, some did appear that way. And then there were individuals like Kate.

She'd been willing to work with him, a monster, even after everything that she'd witness his kind do. She was reasonable, smart, compassionate, and strong. He had no doubt that she was afraid, but she didn't let it control her and held her own despite what was going on around her. There were other people who were admirable as well – Jameson, Lars, Carter and some people in Carter's memories – and he was sure there were many others. But he held Kate above everyone else. And that was reason enough for him to return his finger to the trigger.

"There may be a few bad examples of humanity, but even they are better than our kind," Sam announced. "We may be genetically superior, but they are the better race. They pride themselves on individuality though at the same time they want to fit in, and in most instances they fight for each other and look out for each other. While you were ready to condemn me for so much as saying something you didn't like, Kate left me with choices."

Gritting his teeth, the Sander-Thing's hands began to mutate. "You're going to regret this."

Sam shook his head. "Only thing I regret is ever following your orders."

Before the Thing could charge at him, Sam pulled the trigger and a stream of fire illuminated the corridor, encasing the First.

Wailing angrily and in agony, the Sander-Thing tore at Its clothing as It ran away from Sam, fire licking at It's flesh.

Sam chased after It, wanting to make sure he finished the job so he could power down the ship and find Kate. It couldn't have been out of his sight for more than a minute, but when he rounded the corner, the Thing was gone and a maintenance hatch was open.

"Fuck," Sam muttered under his breath.

Rather than kill the First, he'd just succeeded in pissing it off further.

* * *

><p>Every bone in Kate's body ached as she started coming to, but as far as she could tell nothing was broken.<p>

Holding her hand to her head, she slowly sat up, keenly aware that she'd have some nasty bruises from the fall. Granted the fall wasn't as long as she'd expected, but knocking her head on the floor made it feel as though she'd fallen miles. But as much as she would have loved to stay sitting and let the throbbing in her head stop, she got to her feet carefully. She was still in danger and on the Things ship. How long had she been unconscious though? A minute? An hour? She didn't know.

Realizing that she didn't have any weapons on her aside from the grenade, she suddenly felt very naked and dug around in her coat for her flashlight, finding one after a few seconds. In the dim light of the ship, the little device made her feel better.

Eager to get this over with, whatever the outcome may be, she cautiously made her way deeper into the ship. Where exactly she was going was anyone's guess. One corridor looked like the last one, and one door or hatch could have been one that she passed earlier. She just couldn't be sure so she kept going forward, taking no turns if she didn't have to. It was hard to believe that anyone – human or otherwise – could find their way. The walls were curved and dark brown with what looked like ice coating them but when she reached out her bare hand to touch it, she found it was wet and cool to the touch, almost warm. It was strange, but she didn't waste her time wondering about it. She'd probably never understand the structure anyway, at least not to the full extent.

When she came to an intersection, she bit her lip. She supposed she couldn't make a wrong choice in direction considering she had no clue where she was going so she went left, figuring the corridor would take her closer to the ships center. Along the way she passed a few hatches that lead to lower decks but she opted against going down them. The last thing she needed to do was get so lost that she wouldn't be able to find her way out, and if she left the level she was on she feared she'd get even more lost than she already was.

The corridor came to an end, opening up to a large room with something strange glowing in the center. Completely baffled by the sight before her, Kate approached it cautiously. She didn't know what to make of it. The structure was cube-like, and had what almost looked like slim, thumb-sized blocks rotating constantly that ranged from light blue to dark blue, light yellow to orange, and cream colors along with white. In a way, it reminded her of building blocks constantly changing, only they seemed to be changing all on their own. It was actually very pretty and fascinating. She'd be sure to ask Sam about it later.

Sam…

Where was he anyways? She didn't want to admit it, but she was worried that the Thing had gotten to him and done something to him. Could he be replicated? She'd never thought to ask him about it. She hoped not. Whether she was going to kill him or not was still up in the air, but she was leaning more on not killing him, because discovering what he was, what had he done to deserve being killed? He'd helped her ever since agreeing to her deal, even going so far as to try to save her from falling when he could have just left her there. And to be honest, he wasn't that bad of an individual. She still couldn't say that she trusted him completely, but she _did _trust him enough not to hurt her as long as the deal was still valid, which it was. If she decided not to kill him and they survived this, she would help him in whatever way she could to get that ship off the ground.

While she was looking at the column, the hairs on the back of her neck stood up and she heard what sounded like footsteps behind her. Sam wouldn't sneak up on her, which left only one other possibility. A possibility that made her frightened to turn around. Swallowing, she slowly turned around with the flashlight and came face to face with the Thing that now longer looked like Sander, unless one counted the stretched face. One of Its arms was still relatively normal, but the other was a nasty, elongated claw that looked as sharp as razor blades, she couldn't be sure if there was another arm growing out of Its back or not, and as for Its legs, well, they were normal legs.

Kate rapidly backed up to put as much distance as possible between her and the First. The only weapon she had was the grenade, but she hesitated to use it so close to the Thing. Though it was unlikely to survive, she was going to try to live. As It advanced on her, she searched around for a place to get away and found a tunnel-like system far behind her and looked back at the Thing coming closer and closer. She noticed that It looked burnt and pissed, and realized that maybe Sam had gotten to It and burned It. But if that was the case why hadn't he killed It?

The moment It roared at her, all other thoughts left her mind and she bolted towards the tunnel, diving into it and crawling as fast as she could. Behind her, she heard the entrance to the tunnel break as the First forced Its way in, hot on her heels.

Rounding the corner ahead of her, she flattened herself against the floor to avoid the Things long tentacles as they grabbed at her and felt the grenade slip from her pockets and roll away. Hurriedly she scrambled to knees and crawled to what she hoped would be another tunnel, and found herself at a strange gate that prevented her from going any further.

"No!" Her luck could not be that bad. "No, no!" she yelled, slamming on the gate with her hands and scooting back to kick at it.

The Things tentacles reappeared and strained to reach her, coming so close that she had to put her back to the gate and turn her head just to remain out of Its reach. If only she'd gone left and not right, maybe she wouldn't have found herself stuck in a corner. If only she'd stayed home and hadn't come to Antarctica, maybe she'd be safe and not fighting for what may be her last minutes alive.

And then, as quickly as the tentacles appeared, they were gone.

Slowly, Kate turned her head to look at the entrance to the tunnel she'd gone down and saw nothing, nor did she hear anything. It seemed too good to be true that It had left the tunnel. What was the saying about crocodiles and alligators? – It's the one you don't see that you have to worry about. She was willing to bet that that saying applied to this situation. But as she looked at the grenade lying just feet away, just inside the tunnel opposite of her, the opportunity to retrieve it was too good to pass up. Waiting one more second and hearing only silence, Kate cautiously inched toward the grenade, willing her seemingly arms and legs to move.

Shaking with adrenaline and fear, Kate eventually came to the intersection of tunnels, one being the way she'd come and the other being the one where the grenade was. It seemed like such a short distance.

Trying to stop shaking and steady her breathing, she crawled to the end of the tunnel she was in. The moment she did so, the tentacles returned, this time with the Thing they were attached to as It bulldozed through the corner wall of the tunnel. Not daring to look back, she scrambled towards the grenade, desperately trying to reach it. She didn't care anymore if she lived or died as long as she took It with her.

At the last possible second, she threw her body forward and grabbed the grenade, just as the tentacles wrapped around her left foot. Roughly she was dragged out of the tunnel screaming and kicking, trying to get It to release her foot.

Once again she found herself in the large room with the strange column, only this time she didn't think there was anything pretty about it because this was quite likely the room she would die in.

The Thing dragged her to the dead center of the room near that column and let go, backing away and mutating further before her eyes as she backed away. What had once been Sander's face split apart to form a grotesque mouth with rows of teeth and tongue-like tentacles with sharp barbs at the tips.

"Kate!"

Her eyes darted towards the sound and she spotted Sam entering the room, flamethrower in hand.

Raising the weapon, he shouted, "Kate, get back!"

But even she knew that there wasn't time for him to get to the First and burn It before It gutted her or did whatever It planned to do. Looking to the grenade in her hand then back to the Things mouth, she pulled the pin and threw it. It was their only chance.

Stumbling to her feet, Kate ran towards Sam, not looking to see if the grenade landed in Its mouth. By the way Sam grabbed her arm and forced her to run faster, she guessed that she'd made the shot and picked up the pace.

Seconds later there was a tremendous boom that shook the ship and nearly knocked them off their feet. Not a moment passed before there was another explosion much stronger than the first and she felt the corridor growing warmer and warmer by the second.

All of a sudden Sam yanked her around in front of him roughly enough to where she thought her shoulder might dislocate and he shoved her into a deep crevice. He hurried in with her, blocking her smaller body with his as a fire-cloud shot down the corridor they had just been running in. It became unbearably hot and Kate swore that her skin was going to melt off, but both she and Sam were just far enough back in the crevice to avoid being burned alive.

After a few long seconds, the fire subsided and left behind only scorched walls and thick smoke.

Kate noticed she'd been clutching the labels of Sam's coat out of sheer terror and let go, flexing her cramped fingers.

Leaning back away from her, Sam stared at her in disbelief. "You blew him up."

She nodded with a slight shrug. "Yeah."

A beat passed and then they both broke out laughing, less from the humor of it all, but from the fact that they were both still alive. It was too good to be true, and yet there they were, breathing.

Coughing, Kate asked, "Can we get outta here?"

His laughter subsiding, he nodded and stepped out to survey the damage before motioning for her to follow.

Kate stepped out and looked up at him, noticing the frown that had come to his face, wiping away all traces of a smile as he looked at the damage she'd caused. A sinking feeling settled in her stomach.

"You're not going to be able to leave in this ship, are you?"

Sam shook his head slowly. "My guess is the grenade set off a chain reaction." Sighing, he added, "No, I don't think I can leave in this thing."

So where did that leave them?

Kate's deal had been based off him eventually leaving in the ship she just damaged. Now that it was quite possibly destroyed beyond repair, would he think he had the right to stay on Earth? He didn't belong there, no matter what category he fell into. But where then did he belong? Looking at him, she had no answers. She was sure though that under the circumstances no one would blame her for killing them. It may be best for everyone if she did so here and now, but she didn't know if she could do that after all he'd done to help her. Then again, who was to say that he wouldn't kill her now that the deal was void? There were too many questions to which she had no answers for. Since it didn't seem as though he'd be killing her here and now, she'd wait until he relinquished the flamethrower to make her decision.

Sam said nothing as he stood in the center of the corridor until finally he turned and started walking. "We should get out of here now. For all we know, the ship could collapse in on itself."

Mutely nodding in agreement, she followed him, trusting him to lead find the way out of the ship. She was impressed that he knew his way around. Of course, this was a ship he'd lived on for a period of time. It was only natural that he knew his way around. And sure enough, a few minutes later they arrived at the hatch that led to the top of the ship. Coughing, she climbed out of the ship, Sam coming up behind her, and she breathed in the ice cold air.

As soon as they reached the ice and were off the top of the ship, she fell to her knees, exhausted.

"Kate," he said, kneeling next to her. "Kate, we've got to get to the surface. It isn't safe down here."

"Just give me a second," she mumbled, eyelids heavy. She'd give anything to sleep, even for just one second.

Grabbing her jaw, he forced her to look at him. "Kate, listen to me, this isn't over yet."

His words pushed the fatigue to the side and she stared at him, yanking her jaw out of his hand. "What?"

"I told you there were three Firsts," he said. "Two of them are dead, but there is still one left along with a few others at my level. Now, as far as I know they weren't on the ship, which means they might still be at Thule, or heading to the nearest populated location."

He was right. She'd been so caught up in having killed the Sander-Thing that she'd completely forgotten about the other Things. It was far from over, and that knowledge almost made her want to cry.

"Why would They stay in Thule?" she asked at last.

Sam replied, "Jameson and I didn't kill Lars. We knocked him unconscious, but did not kill him."

She thought that over. "Which gives those Things someone to replicate."

He nodded. "But if They've already replicated him, then They'd be heading towards someplace populated. Possibly to the U.S. outpost."

"So where do we go? Thule, or the U.S. outpost?"

He looked to the side then back to her. "It's your decision. You tell me where we go."

Her decision… If he was letting her decide, could that mean that he had no plans to kill her despite the fact that the deal was no longer valid?

Liking her chapped lips, she thought over where to go. "The U.S. outpost. If those Things haven't replicated Lars by now, They may do so before we can get to him. Our best bet is to get to the other Americans and try to convince them of what's going on. Warn them," she decided.

Without questioning her decision, Sam rose to his feet, gripping her arms and helping her to her up. "Then come on, you can sleep in the Snowcat."

She stumbled after him, half awake. As dire the situation was, she still wanted only to sleep. She slept very little the night she left for Antarctica, slept less than three hours the night she arrived, and hadn't slept since. As absurd as it seemed, she almost wanted to tell Sam that killing the other Things could wait. But she knew that it couldn't and continued climbing back to the surface.

By the time they reached the top, she was shivering, every bone feeling as though it were frozen inside her body, and every muscle aching. Nothing was going right. Hugging her chest, keeping her bare hand as covered as possible, she followed Sam over to the Snowcat.

Tugging the flamethrower off his back, he opened the passenger door to the Snowcat and tossed it in the middle. "We may have enough fuel to get to the outpost," he said, walking around to get in the driver's side. "If not, we'll at least be close enough to walk the rest of the way."

The prospect of walking wasn't a pleasant thought, but she didn't dwell on it, eyeing the abandoned flamethrower.

"I'll put this in the back," she offered, pulling it across the seat.

Sam only nodded, starting the engine.

Quietly, she put her arms through the straps and hauled the flamethrower onto her back. Was she really going to kill Sam? He hadn't tried to harm her in any way; rather he'd done the exact opposite and went out of his way to help her. Did he deserve to be burned alive like the others of his kind who intentionally hurt and killed people? Her throat tightened painfully. She had to be doing the right thing…

"There a problem back there, Kate?" Sam asked, leaning out his window to scrape some ice off the windshield.

Biting her lip and forcing herself not to put the flamethrower down, she stepped back over to the open passenger door, clutching the nozzle of the weapon, finger flexing over the trigger.

Sam briefly glanced at her then did a double take as he realized what she had aimed at him. Slowly so as not to startle her, he shifted his body back into the seat, holding his hands up in submission. "Kate?" he started slowly. "What are you doing?"

Gritting her teeth, she said, "Our deal included you leaving. No ifs, ands, or buts. You've helped me a lot, hell, I'd go as far as saying you saved my life, but how can I trust you when you now have no reason not to hurt me or anyone else?"

He didn't answer right away, choosing his words very carefully. "I could have left the moment I busted out of the shed, Kate. I could have rigged one of the Snowcats and been on my ship by now," he said, keeping his eyes – Carter's eyes – locked with hers. "And inside the ship, the First tried to make me a deal that wouldn't have been in your favor. But I didn't accept because I didn't feel you deserved what he had planned for you. I've had plenty of chances to kill you but I haven't, nor did I kill Lars when I could have or Jameson."

Kate hesitated, gritting her teeth so hard they ached. "So what? You just live on Earth now?"

"This wasn't my plan. I'd wanted to leave, to get back to what's familiar, but I can't do that now. What else do you suggest I do?"

She really didn't know.

"You can trust me, Kate," Sam declared, believing what he said, and she almost broke. "I'm not going to hurt you. You can trust me." Shrugging slightly, he added, "If I piss you off at any point you can cut off my arm."

Her lips twitched against her will. "You can reattach it."

"Yeah," he admitted, a slight smirk playing at his lips. "But it'll hurt like hell and might make you feel better. I'd really rather you didn't burn me."

Her throat couldn't have tightened any more than it already had. As it was it hurt to breath. He didn't want to die, and she was trying to find a reason to kill him when there were so many reasons not to. By now the flamethrower in her hands was shaking, and she didn't know if it was due to how cold she was, or by how unsure she was.

Concern fell over Sam's face. "Kate, you're going to freeze if you stay out there any longer. If you're going to kill me then kill me, or don't, just hurry up and make your decision."

She wanted to hit him. Here she was, threatening him with a damn flamethrower, and he wanted her to be quick about deciding what to do so that she wouldn't freeze.

Clenching her eyes shut, Kate let go of the flamethrowers nozzle and leaned wearily against the door. She couldn't do it. She didn't have a reason to kill him. She didn't even think she really wanted to kill him.

Shaking, she pulled off the flamethrower and dropped it into the back seat before climbing into the front with Sam.

Watching her, Sam asked, "You okay?"

"I don't know if I'll ever be okay again," she started. "But at this point I think you've earned the right to live, so I have to get over the fact that you're not human, and not one of Them. Like you said, you're something else."

Sam breathed a sigh of relief and gave her a half smile. "Thank you, Kate."

She just nodded, too tired and cold to say anything else.

"Get some sleep," he said, putting the Snowcat in gear and driving towards the U.S. outpost.

Kate did not have to be told twice and leaned back in the seat, her eyelids too heavy to keep open, and fell into a restless, dreamless sleep.

* * *

><p>Sam had been driving for well over an hour and still couldn't believe that Kate hadn't fried him. For a moment he swore that she would kill him just because he wasn't human. But she hadn't and he respected her more than ever for giving him a chance. He sure as hell wouldn't make her regret it. Not if he could help it. She still didn't trust him though, despite his assurance that she could. That was evident by the fact that she'd thought about killing him. It would take him a little longer to earn that from her, but he was sure that if he worked on it she would trust him. At least he hoped she would.<p>

Idly, he looked over at her. She looked as uncomfortable as ever, shaking, eyebrows nit together. They were running on fumes, and he knew that he couldn't make her walk the rest of the way to the outpost, not with how worn she was. She didn't need that kind of stress on her body. But sitting there wouldn't do them any good either. With below freezing temperatures, she'd be battling hypothermia while he'd only have to worry about forced hibernation. His chances, both inside and outside the vehicle, were better than hers but still not very bright. If they could make it just a little further…

The odds didn't appear to be in their favor as the Snowcat sputtered to a rough stop, lights going dead and sending them into darkness. It was done.

Cursing loudly, he slammed his fist into the wheel, putting a nice dent in it. With the heat cut off, the temperature dropped rapidly in the vehicle and Kate's shivering increased with each passing second.

Knowing that he had a better chance at getting through the cold, Sam quickly unzipped his coat and pulled it off, shivering as the frigid air hit him, and yanked his gloves off as well, leaving him in boots, damp jeans that were starting to freeze, and a long-sleeved shirt. All in all, he was cold.

"Kate," he said, giving her a shake. When she didn't wake up, he shook her harder. "Kate."

Groaning, she half opened her eyes, not fully conscious. "What?..."

Grabbing her bare hand, he forced the glove on her. "We're out of fuel."

"How far are we?" she asked, fighting the sleep away. "Can we walk?"

He shook his head though she couldn't see it. "No." Leaning towards the backseat, he shoved the flamethrower to the floor. Tossing the coat in the backseat, he then climbed over his seat and into the back. "Get in the back, Kate."

She frowned in the darkness. "What?"

"Get back here, put my coat over your legs, and lean back against me."

"I don't think so," she replied stubbornly, unsure.

"My body temperature is higher than yours. I'll stay warm longer," he explained, in no mood to argue. "Unless you want to freeze to death, get back here."

She hesitated, but the option of being warm over freezing must have had some appeal to it because she tiredly climbed into the back with Sam's help.

Shifting in the seat so that his back was to the door, he said, "Take your coat off and put it on backwards."

She did as she was told and slipped her coat on backwards so that the zipper was behind her.

Sam leaned forward, retrieving his coat and draping it over her legs while he tugged her back against his chest, his arms slipping under the coat and around her slim waist. "Better?" he asked, teeth starting to chatter. His back was freezing because of the ice cold door his was leaning back against.

Kate nodded. "Much better, actually." She pressed her back against him, seeking his warmth. "Aren't you going to freeze?"

"Not the same way you will. I'll be forced into hibernation if left in the cold like this for too long." Half chuckling, he added, "Myself and the other survived being encased in ice, remember?"

She nodded but didn't say anything, and for a few minutes neither said a word to each other, the wind providing the only noise.

Her shakes not quite as strong as they'd been earlier, Kate asked quietly, "Do you think someone will find us."

"I don't know," he admitted, though he sincerely doubted it.

Sighing, she answered her own question. "No one has a reason to look for us. I think we could be here for a very long time."

Holding her a little tighter, he replied, "Better get comfortable then."

Kate snorted. "I think comfortable is too much to ask for."

That was the last either said and soon Kate drifted back to sleep, not shivering nearly as much as before. But Sam sure was, he was freezing despite his body temperature being higher than her's currently was. The Snowcat might very well be his new prison and Kate's grave. There was no way to be sure if they would be found or not.

All they could do was sit and wait.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Reviews are welcome. In fact, they're encouraged!<strong>_

**A/N: **_**This story will be continued into **_**The Thing 1982**_** in the next chapter. **_


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: **_**I'd planned to have this chapter done three Thursdays ago (give or take a week), even told a few people that, but I remembered that**__** I had tests coming up, and I have final exams coming up on December 5**__**th**__** too. **_

_**I'll update as fast as possible, but because of finals updates will be a bit slow. **_

_**Anyways, back to the story, as you can guess **_**The Thing 1982 **_**will be AU, and bits and pieces here and there will be in MacReady's POV, but it's still Kate and Sam centered.**_

**Disclaimer:**_** I do not own **_**The Thing 2011 **_**or **_**The Thing 1982**_**.**_

* * *

><p>At some point during the night, Kate had pulled her arms out of the coat's sleeves, using it as a blanked while she turned to bury her face and hands against Sam's unnaturally warm chest. All thoughts of distrust towards Sam went out the window as the night grew colder, her main concern turning into staying warm at all costs. Her skin felt like ice, the tips of her ears hurt, she couldn't feel her nose, and unless she wiggled her toes she couldn't feel her feet. Whether or not Sam was doing any better was anyone's guess. The only indication she'd received that he was even conscious was when he removed his arms from her waist to allow her to change her position before putting them back around her. In fact, the only way she knew that he was still alive was too slow beating of his heart against her ear.<p>

She wanted to ask if he was awake, but that part of her brain didn't seem to want to work. As it was she couldn't even open her eye. Tired, cold, and starving, she wasn't sure how much of this her body could take before giving out completely. At least it was daylight, or it seemed that way anyways. Through her closed eyes she could tell slightly that it was lightening outside. Of course it wouldn't matter if it were the middle of the night or mid-afternoon if no one found them soon. Winter had just started; it could only get colder.

The temperature in the Snowcat suddenly dropped. A violent shiver ran through her and she pressed herself closer to Sam, wondering why it suddenly became colder. Vaguely she swore she heard voices, but contributed it to being semi-conscious.

"…two people in here…" a voice said as it came into focus before it faded out again.

A second later she felt something warm on her neck. Fingers?

"She's got a pulse!" that same voice said.

Was she dreaming or something?

The Snowcat shook slightly as someone climbed inside, and she felt a pair of hands grab her by the shoulders and gingerly turn her over before pulling her from the vehicle. This was about the point where she came to realize that she wasn't dreaming.

Forcing her eyes to open, Kate looked up at a man with a nose ring as she was carried bridal style to a helicopter.

"You're gonna be all right, sweetheart," the man assured her over the roar of the chopper. "Garry, keep her warm."

With her throat extremely dry, she found that speaking was a challenge. "Sam?..."

"What?" the man asked. "Is Sam your friend in the Snowcat?"

She nodded slightly. "I-Is he o-okay?" she asked, teeth chattering.

"Don't worry about him. You concentrate on getting warm," he told her and she knew what he was really saying.

He didn't know if Sam was okay or not.

Of course she knew that he wasn't dead, but was he conscious or had he been forced into hibernation? If that was the case, would he wake up in minutes or hours? Would it take him a while to get back on his feet? There were too many questions going through her head and the headache came back.

The man placed her in the back seat of the helicopter while the man in the back pulled her in the rest of the way, bundling her in the coat the other man handed him and repeating that she was going to be okay.

She felt less than safe. What if he was really one of those Things?

Panicking, she tried to pull away even while her body screamed for warmth.

"Easy!" the man warned. "You're safe."

"Get away…" she mumbled, too cold to put up much of a struggle.

"Keep a hold of her, Garry," another man said as he reached the chopper. "I don't want her getting physical while we're in the air."

The man, Garry, grumbled some reply and tightened his grip on her, making her panic further.

Through her half open eyes, Kate saw the man who had told Garry to keep a hold of her had a rather large hat on and was helping the man with the nose ring put someone else in the back with her.

It wasn't long before Sam was put in the back next to her, and she pulled away from Larry and huddled against Sam's side, both for the unnatural warmth he put off but because he was familiar, someone she knew and understood – more or less. She noticed that he didn't say anything and didn't even move. In fact, he seemed to slump in her direction limply. Her mind went directly to hibernation. Had he gotten so cold that he'd been forced into it, or had he willing put his body into stasis? It seemed unlikely that he would be forced into it when he'd walked so far during the night back to Thule.

Climbing into the copilot's seat, the man with the nose ring said, "Take the shortest route back to the outpost, Mac."

Without replying, the man with the large hat, Mac, got in the pilot's seat and took the helicopter up.

Kate's mind raced. She hadn't expected to be found by the residents of the U.S. outpost. By all rights she and Sam shouldn't have been found for days or even weeks. What had drawn them away from the outpost?

Though she desperately tried to remain conscious, Kate's hearing started going and her vision became blurry, exhaustion and the cold finding its way past her small adrenaline boost and forcing her to fall asleep.

* * *

><p>Winters in Antarctica were always relatively predictable, but this winter had taken a sharp turn that helicopter pilot R.J. MacReady hadn't been prepared for. Over the past two years since being the pilot for Outpost 31, he'd never had some crazy Norwegian show up, drop a grenade, blow up a helicopter, and shoot at a dog while shooting also shooting Bennings in the leg. That had been strange enough, but that was just the start of the craziness. What was truly strange was what they discovered at the Norwegian outpost.<p>

Burned and still smoldering, the inside of the main building looked like a war zone. Walls were smashed through along with one ceiling, a man had slit his own wrists and throat, and something had been burned outside in the snow. He had no clue exactly what that Thing was, but It was the most bizarre Thing he'd ever seen. The Thing had had two heads that were attached, sharing one mouth and a severely deformed body with strange legs, and what looked like extra arms. And the smell had been horrendous. There was no doubt in his mind that It had been burned during the night. He had wanted to leave It at the destroyed outpost, but Copper insisted on taking It to examine so It was wrapped up and tied to the side of his chopper.

And then there were the two people stranded in the Snowcat.

Mac suspected that they had been a part of the Norwegian team, but he didn't know why they were so far away from the outpost. It looked as though they were heading to the U.S. outpost, but if that was the case and they had been with the Norwegians, why didn't they go in the helicopter with the crazy one? Maybe they were trying to get away, or maybe they hadn't been trying to get to Outpost 31. Mac was at a loss for answers, but at least the woman spoke English. From what little she mumbles, she sounded American, which only added to his confusion. It didn't make sense for an American woman to be there.

As for the guy, he was out like a light and didn't so much as twitch when he and Cooper dragged him to the chopper. He didn't seem to be doing as well as the woman, who had been conscious for at least a minute or two. It didn't seem logical that he'd be completely unconscious unless he'd hit his head or something.

Maybe the woman would fill in some blanks when she came to.

Walking down to a room where the survivors were being kept, he went to see just how long it would be before they could get some answers.

On two spare cots were the two survivors, wrapped up in in multiple blankets, each with one arm sticking out for an I.V. Mac noticed that the woman had some bruises on her exposed arm that made it look like she'd been thrown into some or had fallen. His eyes darted to her companion, but he doubted the guy had thrown her around. If that was the case he didn't suspect that she would have gotten into the Snowcat with him. No, those bruises had to have happened back at Thule.

Coming over to Copper, he asked, "How are they?"

The doctor glanced at him before sighing and indicating to the woman. "Well, there's no sign of frostbite. She was pretty well bundled in the Snowcat, but temperature is low, and she probably would've caught hypothermia by nightfall. Give her a few hours and she'll be up and about."

Mac nodded slowly. "And the guy?"

"Him I'm not too sure about. Come here," he said, walking over to the man. Holding up the arm with the I.V, Copper said, "Touch his arm."

Frowning, the pilot did so and looked up at Copper in mild disbelief.

"I know," Copper said in agreement, laying the man's arm back onto the bed. "He's been in that Snowcat for God knows how long in freezing temperatures, but while the woman's skin is icy cold, his is very warm to the touch."

"Fever?" Mac asked.

The doctor shook his head. "I can't tell."

Mac stared at him. "Doc, either his temperature is high or it isn't."

"His temperature is elevated," Copper replied, "But there are no signs of sickness, though his heart rate is oddly slow." Staring at the man, Copper sighed, "I can't tell you what's wrong with him."

It wasn't often that Copper became stumped. Then again, being in Antarctica he'd only had to deal with frostbite, colds, flus, cuts, and Norris's bad heart. He'd never had to deal with a situation like this here. Normally, they were well prepared.

"What were they doing out there, Mac?"

He stared at the two before his thoughts went to the clinic where that Thing was being kept. "I don't know. But I'll bet that Thing had something to do with them being far away from Thule."

"Blair said It had a normal set of organs, but I don't see how that's possible," Copper commented.

"Me neither." Running his hand over the back of his neck, he sighed. "If anything changes, let me know."

"Will do, Mac."

Leaving the room, Mac shook his head. Garry should be the one asking questions about the survivors and that Thing, not him. Garry was the guy in charge, and Mac was just the pilot with a habit of getting drunk regularly. And yet people opted to listen to Mac much more that they did Garry. Personally, Mac thought that while Garry was a good guy he couldn't keep control of things. It was a flaw the man in his position didn't need.

This wasn't what Mac signed up for. Being the pilot, all he was supposed to deal with was flying the other men at the outpost around when they needed to get somewhere. That was it.

Running his hand through his hair, scratching the back of his neck, he made his way to the rec room to see what everyone was up to before he went after a beer and headed back to his shack where he could be alone to get drunk with some stronger alcohol and sleep.

Halfway to the rec room, the dog that the Norwegian had been shooting at stepped into the hall, and upon seeing Mac it stopped and stared.

After a few seconds of staring, the animal past him and headed for the room the woman and man were being kept in.

"Hey, I don't think so, pal," he called to the dog, bringing it to a stop, and he walked over to it. Taking the dog by the collar, he pulled it back down the hall and away from the two. "Let's let 'em sleep."

He was almost sure he heard the dog growl but it seemed to get the hint and walked back into the rec room. Mac would be lying if he said there wasn't something strange about the dog. First a crazy Norwegian, some fucked up looking Thing, two half frozen people, and now a freakish dog. Could this winter get stranger?

Muttering an oath to find another job, he peered into the rec room where Nauls and Clark were playing pool, and Norris, Garry, and Bennings were playing some card game. Off to the side, Windows was reading a magazine. For a second, Mac was half tempted to join in on the card game, but then he remembered that he had a date with some alcohol and his shack.

"Gah!" Bennings shouted, making everyone start, and Mac stepped inside to see what the problem was.

Looking under the table, Bennings shot an angry look over at Clark when he sat back up. "Clark, will you put this mutt with the others where he belongs?"

Clark put some chalk on his pool stick before nodding. "Yeah, okay." Finding the dog already at the door, he put down the stick and walked over to it, waving it along and it followed obediently without protest, whereas it had growled – maybe – at Mac.

After Clark had lead the animal out of the room, Bennings turned toward Mac, setting his cards down. "Did the doc check and see if that dog was sick?" he asked.

The pilot shrugged and replied, "I'd guess that he did. Why?"

"That damn dog stares off into space more than Palmer does, that's why," he explained. "Maybe it's sick and that's why the guy was shooting at it."

"Why are you asking me?" Mac questioned, then pointed at Garry. "He's in charge. Ask _him_."

Expectantly, everyone in the room looked to Garry, who in turn shifted uncomfortably in his chair.

Finding his voice, Garry said, "I'll ask the doc to run some tests on the dog, but I don't know what he can do. He's a doctor, not a vet."

"Why not ask Blair to check it out?" offered Nauls. "He's a biologist – gotta know somethin' about dogs."

When Garry said nothing, Mac groaned. "I'll ask him to look at the damn dog later, all right?"

A second passed before everyone nodded.

All desire to even consider playing a game of cards, or even to be in the same room with the guys, left him and he was reminded of why he spent most of his time in his shack. Leaving before he could be asked anymore questions, Mac walked down to the kitchen to find something to drink that would hold him over until he got to his shack. He didn't need much, even some water would do, but if there was a cold beer in the fridge he wouldn't pass it up.

* * *

><p>Kate was groggy to say the least. Her head wasn't throbbing as bad as it had been earlier, but she felt as though she had only slept an hour before being forced away, making her a little dizzy and her vision blurry. It wasn't very pleasant. But at least she was finally warm.<p>

Looking at the IV in her arm, she sighed and peeled off the tape before pulling the needle out. The doctor hadn't said that she could remove it, but she didn't feel like she needed it. She pressed her thumb to the tiny wound and slowly sat up, fighting against the dizziness.

The last thing she could remember was the American's loading her and Sam into the chopper.

Sam!

Casting her eyes around the room, her gaze finally landed on Sam, lying on another cot.

Carefully, she got to her feet only to stumble and fall forward, her legs stiff and half asleep. Had she not held out her hands to grasp the side of the cot, she would have either landed on him or on her face. Lowering herself to her knees next to the cot to avoid falling, she shook Sam but he didn't so much as twitch. She had no clue whether or not that was normal or not, because Sam himself was not normal, at least not in human terms. Maybe his kind stayed in hibernation for varied amounts of time. How long had he been out anyways? How long had _she _been out?

Running her hand through her hair, she cringed when she came across knots. She really needed a shower. As soon as she saw someone, she'd see if she could at least take a shower, even if it was a short one.

Where was everybody anyways? Considering it was late, it was possible that everyone was asleep or minding their own business.

Deciding that remaining cooped up in the room with her unconscious "friend" wasn't a good way to spend her time, she carefully got to her feet, relieved to find that some of the feeling was back in her legs, and wandered out of the room.

The U.S outpost looked similar to Thule with only a few differences, one of which being where each room was located. Wrapping the blanket she'd taken from the room tighter around her shoulders, she walked down the hall, searching for any sign of life as dread began to pour into her system. What if those Things had already reached the outpost? It was a terrifying thought and she found her pace slowing as she began peering around corners cautiously before continuing. She couldn't be too careful.

Just as she was about to step into a room, she heard footsteps farther down the hallway and swallowed. Against her better judgment, she went to investigate. It probably wasn't the smartest move on her part. She could hardly walk at the moment, much less run if she had to.

More than a little frightened of what she might find as she neared what looked like a kitchen, she looked around for something – _anything_ – she could use as a weapon, and came across a box cutter. The tiny blade wouldn't do much, if anything, to one of those Things if that was what was in there, but it was all she had at the current moment.

Kate reached to doorway of the kitchen and cautiously inched inside, holding the box cutter tightly. The refrigerator door was open and she heard someone rummaging around in it, which gave her pause. Would one of those Things dig around in a refrigerator if no one was around to see it acting human? What would be the point of acting human?

The long haired man shut the fridge, beer in hand, and was about to open it when he realized that he wasn't the only one in there. Turning his attention to her, he looked stunned that she was up and walking, but then he tensed, noticing the box cutter.

"Guess I'd be jumpy too if I was in your shoes," he commented slowly so as not to spook her.

Kate realized that he was the pilot of the helicopter that found her and Sam. He sounded human enough. But so did Sam.

Eyes staying on her, he sidestepped to a few chairs and grabbed the backrest, slowly pushing it towards her. "Why don't you sit down before you fall down?"

Swallowing, flexing her fingers around the box cutter, she slowly lowered the blade and walked over, taking a seat.

The man held out his hand. "Can I have that back?" he asked.

She looked down at her only source of protection and reluctantly handed it over. What good would it have done her anyways?

Retracting the blade, he tucked it into his pants pocket and turned to one of the cabinets. He took out a glass and filled it with some water. Moving back over to her, he held it out to her. "MacReady – Mac."

Sipping the water, she replied, "Kate Lloyd." Taking another longer drink, she sighed, her dry throat feeling better.

"You're buddy awake?"

She shook her head. "Not yet."

Pulling his own chair over, Mac took a seat. "How long were you out there? In the Snowcat?"

"Um…" Thinking back, she realized she didn't know. "What day is it?"

When he told her, her eyes widened in disbelief. "Less than twenty-four hours."

"Really?" Mac asked, equally surprised. "You're lucky you weren't out there longer."

She nodded. It was a miracle. But why had they been out that far?

Before she could ask, she heard a faint, hellish scream. A sound Kate knew all too well.

Frowning, Mac darted to his feet and ran to the fire alarm, breaking the glass with his beer before pulling the alarm. "Wait here!" he ordered, running out of the room.

"No!" she shouted. "You don't know what you're up against!" Scrambling out of the chair, she ran as fast as her sore legs could carry her down the hall after him. "Get a flamethrower!"

He looked over his shoulder at her. "Why? You know what's in there?"

"Just trust me and get a fucking flamethrower!"

"Fine," he replied. "Just stay put!"

Kate stopped, slouching against the wall, unsure of what to do next as men flooded the hall complaining about the noise.

"What is this?" demanded one of the men, stumbling of his room. "What's goin' on?"

Another looked to another man who looked like he just woke up. "Hey, Palmer, what is this?"

Palmer shook his head. "I don't know."

Amidst the confusion, one of the men spotted her. "Guys, isn't that one of those survivors Mac and the others found?"

All eyes turned to her and she gulped.

"You know what's going on here?" the same man asked, walking towards her.

She did, but she wasn't sure how to explain it with all the confusion going on. Telling them up front that an alien was at the outpost might not be the best way to go about it. But she couldn't lie about it and then expect them to even remotely believe her later.

Luckily, a man with a nose ring – the man from the helicopter – came out of his room, pulling on a pair of pants as he saw her. "Back off, Palmer," he snapped at the man coming at her, and gently but firmly took her arm and lead her back to the room she woke up in. "I want you to stay in the room 'till we get this all sorted out, you hear?"

She nodded, but said, "Please, make sure Mac has a flamethrower. It's the only way to kill It!"

Urging her to sit on the cot, the man stared at her. "You tellin' me you know what's out in those kennels?"

She opened her mouth to speak, but was interrupted.

"Copper, hurry up!"

Gritting his teeth, Copper repeated, "Stay here!" He then ran out to the kennels with the other men.

Knowing the men didn't understand what exactly was out there, she went to Sam's side and shook him. "Damn it, Sam, wake up!" she shouted to no avail.

What the hell would it take to snap him out of it? Thinking back to all that he'd told her, she tried to find a clue but came up with nothing helpful. She sure as hell didn't want to sit and wait, so she went over the events leading up to the Things breaking through the chunk of ice. One thing that stood out was when Sander had them take a tissue sample by drilling into the ice and Things inside. Maybe the pain caused Them to come out of hibernation. It was worth a shot.

Pulling her hand back, Kate slapped Sam as hard as she could across his face. Once. Twice. The third time she hit him, leaving both his cheek and her hand bright pink, she noticed his breathing start to increase and took it as a sign she was doing something right.

"Come on, wake up," she hissed under her breath, hitting him again, this time with her closed fist, causing his nose to bleed.

Out of nowhere his eyes snapped open and he started to convulse, for lack of a better word. He couldn't stop thrashing and he swung his arm, hitting her in the chest and knocking back to the wall. Utterly confused, she stared at him in horror as she noticed the fingers of his right hand start to elongate. Then she remembered that the Things had reacted with hostility the moment They broke free of the ice, attacking the dog in the kennel as well as other to the point where it risked exposing Themselves.

Sam was reacting to a perceived threat out of self-defense, mutating back to whatever he originally looked like.

Fighting her own fear, Kate scrambled back to his side in a desperate attempt to calm him down.

Putting one hand on his chest and grabbing his jaw with her other hand she said, "Sam, it's all right! You're safe!" He didn't appear to hear her so she forced him to look at her, trying not to panic when his hand with the elongated fingers tried to grab her by the throat. "It's me, Kate! Sam, you're okay! Please, it's Kate!"

His eyes settled on her face, full of his own panic and confusion. To her relief, however, at last there seemed to be at least an ounce of recognition and his mutated hand moved away from her neck while his other, still normal hand, grasped her arm painfully. But he didn't seemed to be intentionally trying to hurt her with his grip, but rather he was trying to anchor himself and keep from mutating further.

"That's it," she praised, speaking to him as she would a frightened child. "You're okay, Sam."

After what felt like hours but couldn't have been more than a few seconds, Sam finally stopped convulsing and his breathing had slowed a bit. He still kept a tight grip on her arm to the point where her hand was tingling from the blood supply being cut off, but at least he was calming down.

Hair falling in her face, she stared at him. "You all right now?"

Gulping in some more air, Sam nodded. "Yeah," he bit out. Noticing her hand changing colors on his chest, he released her arm. "I'm sorry."

She just shook her head. "I'm just happy you didn't strangle me."

"Where are we?" he asked, forcing himself to sit up, frowning at his mutated hand.

"The U.S outpost," she replied, helping him to his feet. "We've gotta get to the kennels. The rest of the Things are already here."

Almost instantly Sam's wits returned and he was walking perfectly. It was as if he had just taken a short nap. "Stay put," he ordered as he went to the door.

She was sick and tired of hearing that. "No, I'm coming with you. And cover your hand up," she said, tossing him a blanket.

Mutter an oath about her not listening, he wrapped up his hand and took off down the hall with her struggling to keep up, following the screaming of the Thing in the kennels.

As they drew closer they could hear gunfire and Kate knew full well that shooting the Things would only piss Them off. Silence followed bug not a minute later they both smelled smoke and she took it as a sign that at least someone had listened to her and retrieved a flamethrower. By the time they actually reached the kennels, the chaos had died down, the fire putting out by extinguishers.

All the men in the room just stood there, completely stunned and at the moment oblivious to Kate and Sam's presence.

Kate made a step near the men, but Sam grabbed her shoulder with his normal hand, keeping her back with him. Having grown to somewhat trust his judgment, she stayed by his side.

But the action drew the attention of the others in the kennel and suddenly all eyes were on them.

Gripping his shotgun, MacReady stepped towards them, eying Kate angrily. "You'd better give us some answers. Now."

And she would give them answers, but whether or not they believed her was a different story.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Reviews are welcome. In fact, they're encouraged!<strong>_


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: **_**I have a question that is open for anyone to answer. A few people have asked me via messages if I am going to keep Sam and Kate as friends, partners, whatever, or if I am going to make them a couple – Sam/Kate. **_

_**Since each option will require taking the story down a certain direction, I would like everyone's opinion on the matter. So either send me a review with your opinion and why you think they should or shouldn't eventually become a couple, or you can send me a message. **_

_**And, no promises, but I **_**might **_**continue this story after the 1982 movie. I'm not sure yet. **_

* * *

><p>"I didn't know what I was getting into when I came to Antarctica about three days ago – four in matter of hours. All I was told by Dr. Sander Halvorson was that a structure and a specimen had been found in the ice near the Norwegian outpost," Kate began, sitting on the couch with a cup of hot coffee while Sam remained standing next to the armrest closest to her.<p>

From what Sam could tell, most of the others at his level that had replicated the dog from Thule had been burned to death, but the remaining First and a few others had not been a part of the creature that had been destroyed. It was likely that the yet to take a host, because unless there were other people at the outpost It hadn't replicated anyone in the room. He'd be able to tell by It's scent if It was. As for the others at his level, he couldn't be sure. For some reason it was impossible to differentiate between the scent of a human and the scent of the average Thing when It was replicating something. Some said that it was so that they could truly be the perfect replication, and that only the Firsts needed to be recognized. Either way, Sam was wary of everyone in the room but Kate.

He wasn't too sure what to think about these humans yet. The one named Garry was supposedly in charge, and yet MacReady was the one people were listening to. As for the others, they all seemed a bit twitchy. He supposed it was understandable due to their encounter with his kind, but as he watched their faces as Kate explained what was going on from the beginning, he grew concerned for her safety.

"We cut out the slab of ice that the specimen was in and took it back to Thule so it would thaw out and I could see what we were dealing with," she continued. "Sander wanted to drill into it and take a tissue sample, and, ignoring my protests, that's what happened. Everything went downhill from there.

"It… woke up, and broke out of the ice that evening. We went looking for It, but misinterpreted just how dangerous the Thing was. One of the team, Henrik, was killed and the Thing looked like it was trying eat him or something. Sam, here," she said, glancing up at him, "and his copilot were shooting the Thing but it didn't do any good. So we burned it, and that seemed to do the job. After doing an autopsy, Sander and I discovered that the creature was trying to digest Henrik, absorb him. Of course everyone wanted to leave, especially since Olav was in shock after seeing what happened to Henrik, but I didn't think it was a good idea since we didn't know what we were dealing with, and Sander didn't want people finding out about what we found – you know, preserve the scientific discovery. But it wasn't our call, and it was decided that Sam, his copilot, and Griggs would take Olav out of here and get him some help in the morning."

"I'm guessing that didn't go as planned since you're here," Mac commented, eying Sam suspiciously.

Kate opened her mouth to speak, but Sam put his hand on her shoulder, silencing her.

To Mac, he replied, "I had just taken off when I saw Kate run out of the main building and flag me down. As I was about to land, something in the back of the chopper attacked us. I lost control of the chopper and crashed. My copilot, Jameson, and I were the only one who survived. The walk back to Thule gave me time to try to explain what had happened, but it didn't even make sense to me."

Copper shrugged. "Something attacked you, you crashed. What doesn't make sense?"

"The fact that before we had taken off, the Thing was Griggs."

The entire room stared at him as though he'd grown a second head.

"And y'all tell me I'm insane," grumbled Palmer, drinking his beer.

"It's true," Kate insisted. "Before I ran out to stop him from leaving I found a puddle of blood in one of the showers and some metal fillings on the floor. When I'd been helping with the autopsy of the creature I found a metal plate that had originally been in Henrik's arm. With the helicopter destroyed, everyone wanted to get into the Snowcats and leave, and that's when I introduced my theory, which was that this Thing could take over a host, and replicate that person or animal perfectly, but that It couldn't replicate inorganic material. No one believed me, except the only other woman, Juliette, and she told me that she would show me where they kept the keys for the Snowcats. Despite my belief that someone may have been replicated, I threw caution to the wind and followed her to a back room where I found out that she wasn't really Juliette. She was one of those Things and she – It – mutated into some terrifying creature and attacked me. I got away but It kill another member of the team. By then, everyone believed me whether they wanted to or not."

"Now, wait just a second," said Childs, raising his hand. "You said 'specimen' earlier, and that you burned the 'Thing' when it busted out. How is it there are suddenly more than one?" He received nods of agreement from the other men.

Kate hesitate, unsure of what to say, so Sam spoke for her. "She came up with a theory for that one, too."

Mac sat back in his chair. "Really?"

Sam nodded. "She said that maybe It possible that more than one of these Things could take over and share a host, right, Kate?" It was as vague as he could make it without needing to revel how they knew. They didn't need to know what he was just yet.

Not missing a beat, she nodded in agreement. "Yeah, it was the only theory I could come up with about it that made any sense."

"As if any of this makes sense," Bennings said. "You're seriously saying that these Things can 'replicate' a human being?"

"It was able to look like a dog, didn't it?" she retorted, too tired to argue about it.

That silenced the man and he looked away.

"We found something at Thule before we found you," Mac said, turning his attention back to Kate. "It had two head, disfigured limbs…"

"Looked like It crawled Its way out of hell?" she added. When Mac nodded, she sighed. "Late that night we tried to figure out who was who, and it turned out that the station commander, Edvard, had been replicated and that more than one Thing had replicated him. Parts of his limbs broke off and one latched onto Jonas's face. A tentacle burst out of the Thing's chest and stabbed my friend Adam, and Sam's friend Jameson. I tried to fix the flamethrower, but wasn't fast enough and the Thing had… melded to Adam, and then ran off. Before Sam and I went after It, I…" she swallowed. "I burned Jonas and Jameson, just to be sure that they weren't infected by one of those Things. Sam and I later got split up, but I managed to get to the Thing that had replicated both Edvard and Adam, merging into a disfigured creature, and burned It."

Mac nodded, taking it all in. "We found one guy who'd slit his throat and wrists, any idea who that might be?"

Kate looked a little sick. "Colin, most likely, or Lars. Did he have a beard?"

The pilot shook his head. "No."

"Then it was Colin. Lars, well, after we left Thule we were afraid that he'd been replicated and wanted to get here to warn you guys." Noticing how uncomfortable everyone suddenly looked, she frowned. "What?"

Straightening, Garry said, "Two men came here the day we went out to check out Thule. One of them had a beard and was shooting at a dog. Even tried to throw a damn grenade, but blew up their helicopter instead and killed the other guy. He wasn't makin' any sense 'cause none of us speak Norwegian, and we thought he was a threat and so after he shot Bennings in the leg while aiming for the dog, I shot him. Killed him."

Kate's jaw dropped, and Sam wasn't sure if she was going to cry, scream, or punch the man. To his surprised, she took a few deep breaths and swallowed. "He likely knew that the dog wasn't really a dog and was trying to kill it."

"Had I have known…" Garry began, but the paleontologist shook her head and he closed his mouth.

After an awkward few seconds, Mac asked, "What about Sander?"

Taking a long drink of the scalding hot coffee, she replied, "Replicated. I blew him up."

Mac arched a brow. "Blew him up?"

Kate nodded, and once again the room fell silent.

Glancing down at Kate, Sam was half tempted to drag her out of the room so she could relax. The woman looked worn and exhausted even though she'd slept since they were found in the Snowcat. What she needed was some time to process what all was going on.

Downing the alcohol in his glass, Childs said, "I just cannot believe any of this bullshit."

"Then how do you explain that dog, man?" Nauls questions, extending his arm down the hall where the Thing was being kept, waiting for an autopsy.

There was nothing Childs could say to that.

"Before we come to any conclusions," Blair began, pausing until had everyone's attention. "I'm going to go preform that autopsy, see if what I find matches with what Kate claims. Which means I don't want you in the room with me. I need to have a clear head," he added sternly, looking at Kate.

Sighing, she nodded. "All right, just have _someone _in there with you. These Things like getting people alone."

"Clark, Fuchs, you two go with Blair," ordered Mac, and Garry nodded in agreement.

"What about them?" Bennings asked, looking at Sam and Kate.

"Wouldn't mind taking a shower," suggested Kate.

Stepping closer to them, Copper said, "I don't see why that would be a problem. I'll find the two of you some sweats and you can was your clothes after you get out. The clothes might be a bit big on you, hun," he added to Kate. "We don't normally have women here."

"It's fine," she assured him in a tone that told Sam she could care less if the clothes were too big.

And why would she care when they'd been thrown into a frozen hell and were still trying to find their way out?

* * *

><p>Walking into the room Kate had woken up in with Sam, Kate saw on one of the cots, relieved that she could take a few minutes to just relax. She'd feel even better after Copper got her some sweats so she could take a shower. But amidst the relief she felt that she could just sit and take a shower, something nagged at her mind.<p>

Why had Sam lied and lead the others to believe he was human? Under the circumstances, it may have been better to be honest right off the bat. They didn't need to give Mac or the other any reason not to trust them. These people needed to know that they could be trusted. Did he not want to tell them that he wasn't human because he feared they would try to kill him? Was it because he thought the men wouldn't trust them? Or did he choose not to say for some other reason that she couldn't see?

Looking at the man standing at the doorway, looking out at the hallway – _Thing_, she had to remind herself – she couldn't help but wonder what exactly he was thinking about. It was hard to tell.

Kate leaned forward, resting her elbows on the knees, cringing due to the tension in her aching muscles. Watching Sam closely for a reaction, she asked, "Why did you lie to them?"

He turned to lean against the door frame. "I don't recall lying."

"Well, you certainly didn't tell the truth," she pointed out.

"What are you talking about?" he asked, clearly confused.

"You made it sound as though _you_ had been flying that chopper. Why didn't you tell them you aren't human?"

Sam stared at her. "What good would that have done for us, Kate?"

"If we tell them the truth up front…"

"They'll trust us even less," he interrupted, stepping closer to her. "What the hell gives you the impression that telling them I'm not human, but an _alien _who killed an already dying man and replicated him?

When he put it that way it did sound absurd to tell the others. "I just want things to go smoothly this time. Everyone was paranoid at Thule. I'd rather that didn't happen again, or at least not as bad."

"Either way people will be paranoid, Kate. Sure they'd know that I'm one of Them, but no one will know who else is," he replied.

Kate frowned. "What do you mean? I thought you could tell who and who wasn't human."

"I can tell is someone has been replicated by a First," he clarified. "They have a certain scent that my kind can't miss. But the others, the ones like me, can't tell who has been replicated and who's human. Many believe our species was created that way on purpose to make a more perfect replication of our hosts. If you can fool your average Thing, you can easily fool a human."

"Great," she mumbled, rubbing her forehead. That wasn't what she wanted to hear. "So, you're telling me that we're in the dark about who's who?"

Sighing, he nodded.

For about half a minute, no one spoke and Kate didn't think she could get more miserable and pretty much ruled out smiling any time soon.

"Things."

Kate looked up at him. "Huh?"

"Is that what we're calling my species now? Things?"

For a moment she thought he was insulted by being constantly called a thing, but she saw the slight smirk on his face, and she surprised herself by laughing softly. "Well, since you said the name of your kind can't be pronounced by humans, I guess it's as good of a name as you're going to get."

Smirk transforming into an actual smile, Sam shook his head. "Yeah, I guess so."

Something caught Sam's eye and he stepped to the side a second before Copper appeared in the doorway, two sets of clothes in hand.

"I tried to find a smaller pair for you, Kate. 'Fraid they're still going to be falling off of you," the doctor said, handing Sam his clothes before giving Kate hers.

"Its fine," she replied with a small smile. Did he really think she cared about over-sized clothing?

"The showers are right down the hall," he added, then, with a nod, he walked off.

Waiting a beat, Kate said quietly to Sam, "They'll have to be told that you aren't human eventually."

He sighed. "I know." Nodding out the door, he added, "Come on, I'll walk you down the hall."

"I think I can find my way," she replied lightheartedly.

"It's not you getting lost that I'm worried about," he said, and she didn't need him to tell her what worried him.

For all they knew, she could be replicated going down the hall.

So without complaining, Kate rose to her feet, clothes in hand, and followed Sam down the hall. An awkward silence seemed to surround them, but Kate didn't know what else to talk about right now. All she wanted was a hot shower.

When they reached their destination, Kate shifted from foot to foot, and she couldn't help but remember the blood she'd seen in one of the showers back at Thule. A flicker of fear ran through her system and she hesitantly opened the door, looking inside to make sure it was safe and was relieved to see no blood.

Checking it out for himself, Sam gave his nod of consent before stepping back. Shoving his hands into his pockets, he said, "I'll, uh, leave to your shower."

Before she could stop herself, Kate called as he started leaving, "Wait."

He stopped, glancing at her over his shoulder.

"Would you, um…" Deciding not to complicate her question, she just spat it out. "Stay?"

Turning towards her, brows nit together in confusion, he asked, "Sorry?"

Now feeling more than a little childish, she explained, "Like you said, any of those guys could be a replication. I would just feel safer showering if you were at least in the room." Kate didn't think it was possible to feel more embarrassed. Sure there were shower curtains, but she'd still be sharing the shower room with a man – a Thing.

"Even though I'm one of the Things you're afraid off?" he questioned.

"I'm not afraid," she insisted, but couldn't even convince herself of that. "Unlike the other Things, I'm fairly positive that you would have hurt me by now if you had wanted to. And I'm trying to put you in a different category."

For a moment, Sam just stood there, mulling over her request in his head. And then he said, "Wait right here." He started walking off, leaving her wondering what exactly he was doing.

After walking back into the room, he came out a second later with his sweats, and she sent him a questioning look.

"If I'm going to be in there with you I might as well take one of the other showers," he reasoned, stepping inside the shower room with her.

That made sense.

Kate went to one of the far showers and motioned for Sam to turn around before turning on the hot water. When she was sure he wasn't looking, she set the clothes down next to the shower and quickly undressed before stepping under the hot water.

Almost instantly her aching muscles felt better and her still chilled skin finally began to fully warm up. More comfortable than she could remember being in a long while, she moaned happily.

Chuckling, Sam asked as he too got into one of the showers, "Feel better?"

"Much," Kate replied, smiling to herself while she tilted her face up towards the water. "First thing I'm doing when I get home is take long hot bath, eat some hot pasta, crawl into some sweats and sleep for a week."

Sam said nothing and she realized that he had nowhere to go after all this was over.

"What are you going to do now that you're stuck here?" she asked, pouring some shampoo into her hand.

Silent for a few more seconds, he finally replied, "I don't know. Haven't thought that far ahead. Not to mention there is still a chance that neither of us will come out of this alive."

"True," she admitting, washing her dark brown hair. "But I can always hope."

In the other shower, Sam snorted. "Hope. You humans base a lot of your actions and beliefs on hopes and faith."

"I guess we do," she said, never really thinking about it before. "It keeps us sane and gives us a reason to keep moving forward."

"We never base our actions on hope, just facts," replied Sam, speaking of his own kind. "If the odds were that we wouldn't survive, we accepted it – would fight like hell and try to take a few of the enemy with us – but we didn't try to sugar coat facts with hope, and we don't think ahead of those facts."

That was a grim way of seeing things.

"Sounds rough. Don't you ever think about the future?"

"Yes, but not so far ahead where we believe the impossible. Such as believing that we might survive this. The odds aren't in our favor," he said.

She frowned. "Why do you say that?"

"I don't know where the First is or who has been replicated," he replied. "We're in the dark."

He had a point. They didn't know who they could trust, and even her test of checking for fillings could only reveal so much. But she refused to accept that they were going to die.

"We survived Thule and the ship blowing up," she pointed out, rinsing the soap from her hair. "Seems like we're making a habit of surviving."

"Maybe," Sam conceded, doubt still in his voice.

Sighing, Kate decided not to push the issue of whether or not they would survive. She believed they would survive if they fought hard enough despite the odds being against them, whereas Sam refused to see past the facts.

It would take more than a simple chat in the shower room to convince him that they had a chance.

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><p><em><strong>Reviews are welcome. In fact, they're encouraged!<strong>_


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: **_**I've decided that I am going to work some romance into Kate and Sam's relationship. However, while there might be hints of growing affection in this story, they won't suddenly fall in love since I wouldn't even call them friends yet. Not to mention, as people have mentioned, Sam may not yet grasp the idea of friendship, let along romance as his species in very hostile. **_

_**And I'm still mulling over the idea of writing a sequel. It all depends on how I end things in this story.  
><strong>_

_**And another thing, I had to change around the scene with Mac and the others watching the footage from Thule to make it fit a little better.**_

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><p>"What do you think, Blair?" Mac asked, leaning against the wall and staring at the corpse of the creature that had attacked the dogs.<p>

Everyone at U.S 31 – minus Kate and Sam – was in the clinic, waiting to hear what Blair had to say about what exactly the creature was and whether or not Kate's theories were plausible. Mac still had his doubts, but there really were few explanations for it all.

Walking around the medical table, Blair tapped his pencil on his hand, contemplating on what to say. Finally, he said, "I think Kate's right."

Childs shook his head, refusing to believe it. "How is that even possible?"

"Predators can mimic their prey by appearing similar, and the prey can make itself look like the predator," Blair replied. Indicating to the creature with his pencil, he continued, "Just like with the predators and prey we know of, this organism can mimic as well. But this is _far _more complex. This creature can imitate other life-forms perfectly, right down to the cellular level. When this Thing attacked our dogs, It tried to digest them, absorb them, and in the process shape Its own cells to imitate them. Just as Kate said."

Mac didn't want to believe it. It seemed too farfetched. But there were no other possible answers that he could come up with. "She also said that these Things were able to join together or something and share a host. Can you tell if this is just one creature or more?"

Blair shrugged. "I couldn't say. I'm thinking there may have been more than one share the dog as a replicated host, and that was how the Thing – or Things – could try to replicate the other dogs."

Sitting forward, resting his elbows on his knees, Mac took that in. He hated to think about what would have happened if all the dogs had been replicated. But the Things were dead now, leaving only one important question. "Any idea where these Things came from?"

"Kate's the one you want to ask," Blair replied. "She and Sam know more about what these Things are than we do."

More than they were probably letting on, Mac thought to himself. He wasn't sure he believed _everything _they'd said. The guy, Sam, had kept his replies short and to the point, and even appeared to have put a few words in Kate's mouth. Such as with her "theory" as to how there could be more than one Thing. Sam had told them what the theory was, and though Kate took credit for the idea, Mac wasn't so sure. But he was almost positive that the two were hiding something.

"Mac," Norris spoke up, "We still have those videos you found at Thule. Might be something on 'em."

"Right, right, go get them," Mac said, having forgotten about the videos. Maybe they'd offer some insight as to what was going on.

Norris had barely just walked out of the room and Mac was already impatient, glancing at the door. He wanted to watch the videos before Kate and Sam finished washing their clothes just in case there was something on the videos they wouldn't want them to see. He didn't want a fight.

With the retrieved videos in hand, Norris came back into the room and took a look at them. Setting all but the video labeled "1" down, he set up the television and put it in. Fast-forwarding, they waited for something that looked of interest to pop up but so far they were watching the fast version of the Norwegians collecting samples of ice. Nothing out of the ordinary. One thing that Mac noticed was that Kate wasn't among them. Sam was in the background whenever one of the Norwegians recorded the scientists getting off the helicopter, but other than that he wasn't in the video either.

After video "1" finished, Mac sighed and put the next one in, hesitating when he heard footsteps down the hall. "Nauls, take Kate and Sam to the kitchen and get them somethin' to eat," he said, taking note of the young man's discomfort.

Nodding in semi-reluctant consent, Nauls left the room, stopping Kate and her friend in the hall before they could enter the room. Talking with her for a moment, she admitted that she was hungry and she and Sam followed Nauls to the kitchen.

As soon as it was clear that they were gone, Mac pushed "play" and the fast-forward button.

When he put video "3" in, Bennings groaned. "How much more of this crap is there?"

"Oh, about nine hours, I'd say," Copper replied. "Less if we keep fast-forwarding."

"We can't learn anything from this," he stated, favoring his hurt leg.

Fuchs glanced at Mac then back at the TV. "Nine hours or less, it won't take that long for Kate and Sam to finish eating. They'll want to know what's going on."

"We'll deal with that when they're done," Mac replied tiredly.

Sometime into video "3", Garry reached forward and pressed "play". "Is that Kate?" he asked, pointing to a figure to the far right of the screen who was helping carry boxes.

Sure enough, it was Kate. When had she gotten there? Maybe fast-forwarding hadn't been the best idea.

"Where'd they take these shots?" Blair asked, stepping closer.

Looking over some paperwork he'd brought with him, Norris replied, "Seems like they were spendin' a lot of their time in a little place northeast of their camp about five or six miles."

The screen blinked and the Norwegians plus Kate were standing around a large crater.

"What're they doing?" Garry asked.

Mac shrugged. "Looking at something buried under the ice, maybe?"

"Whatever it is, it's bigger than that block of ice you found," he commented.

Yeah, it was bigger, but what the hell was it?

* * *

><p>When Nauls stepped out of the clinic to take Kate and Sam down to the kitchen for food, she'd been reluctant to follow. Their clothes had just finished drying and after putting them back on she'd planned on talking to Blair to see what he thought after the autopsy. But once she was actually in the kitchen sitting down, was no longer in a hurry to talk to him.<p>

Setting her dish in the sink, Kate sighed, full in what felt like the first time in months. She hadn't realized just how hungry she'd been. She'd eaten more than her fair share even though the food hadn't been great, but she really hadn't cared. All that mattered was that she no longer felt as though she were starving. Leaning back against the sink, she watched Sam as he finished eating.

It was almost humorous to watch.

Just like with the soup she'd given him when he and Jameson returned to Thule after the crash, he'd been slightly hesitant to taste it at first. Of course he ate the food, but it was clear he wasn't enjoying it by the look on his face, and each time he came upon a new flavor he'd pause for a second. It was amusing and, as he finished, she smiled. He looked as though he'd just one a battle.

Catching her smile before she could hide it, Sam stared at her. "Something funny?"

"Yeah," she said, smile turning into a grin. "You."

Coming up to her and putting his plate in the sink, he stood in front of her and crossed his arms over his chest. "Really?"

She nodded and since he looked perplexed about what was causing her grin, she explained, "It's just that it was kind of entertaining to watch you eat. You made it look like someone was pulling your teeth, it was obvious when you discovered a new flavor because you would pause stare at your food, and just now when you finished you looked like you'd won some rough battle or something. It was funny."

A slight smirk found its way to his face and he glanced at the plates in the sink. "I don't understand how you humans can eat such food without gagging. It's terrible."

"Now, it wasn't _that _bad," she replied. "And we're far from any decent restaurants or stores to get some good food, so we take what we can get." Curious, she asked, "What do you eat anyways? Your kind, I mean."

"Whatever our current host eats," he answered, his posture relaxing. "But in our true form, we have a tendency to prefer fresh meat, preferable killed only hours earlier, if that, uncooked."

Feeling a little nauseous, she grimaced, "That nasty."

"To you, but to us it was normal. At least once we've reached maturity."

"What do you mean?" she asked. "And how exactly are you born anyways?"

He arched a brow at her.

"Is your kind asexual, or do you have males and females? I'm curious," she clarified.

Moving to lean against the sink next to her, he sighed. "We're not asexual, though we might be mistaken as such because we sometimes have no choice but to take a host of the opposite sex. When that happens, we're only in that host until we get the opportunity to replicate someone of our own sex. As with Juliette, all of my kind that took her as a host were female."

"Can't imagine any of you would be happy being stuck in a replication of the opposite sex," she commented, forcing herself not to think about Juliette.

"Oh, we aren't, and that's why we try to avoid it. Luckily for myself and the other males, there were plenty of male humans for us to replicate," he said.

She nodded, grateful that he was sharing some information about his species. He really didn't have to tell her anything, yet he'd answered most of her questions. There was always the chance that he was lying, but she didn't think he was. After what they'd been through so far, why would he lie?

"You said eating fresh meat was normal once you reached maturity," she pressed. "What about before?"

He didn't say anything at first, thinking of how to phrase it.

Was it really so complicate?

Turning to face her, leaning on his side against the sink, Sam said, "When we're born, it's not under the best of circumstances. The only time we mate is when we feel our numbers need to increase. Half the time we don't even like each other. But whether we hate each other or not is irrelevant."

"So," she started. "Even you and a female hate each others guts, if you're told to reproduce, you just do it?"

He nodded. "That's correct."

"How romantic," she mumbled to herself. "What about the maturity thing?"

"We reach maturity by the age of six, but before that we look like a normal member of the species our parents took as hosts, and we are unable to mutate into our true form because are cells are still forming and evolving. We're taught to be nothing but ruthless killers by our mothers because typically the males want nothing to do with the younger generations until maturity is reached. And reaching it is… a painful process." He paused, and she got the feeling he would rather not talk about the subject. "When we mature we mutate into our species' true form, often without warning, and the first time we mutate it is extremely painful and frightening. We are automatically expected to act the part of the rest of our species, and we do so without complaint."

"Sounds like a harsh start on life," she said quietly, watching his face as different emotions played in his eyes before he put up a blank mask.

"It was," he answered shortly with a nod. "But my species is nothing but harsh. If you don't reach the Firsts expectations by the time you reach maturity, you're removed."

She shifted from foot to foot. "And by removed, you mean…"

"Killed."

No wonder he seemed reluctant to talk about it. Either one of his kind became a hostile monster by the time They reached maturity, or They were murdered. That was undoubtedly the worst childhood she'd ever heard about.

"I'm sorry," Kate said, frowning when he shot her a confused look.

"Why?" Sam asked. "You've done nothing."

"I know, but…" she trailed off, wondering exactly how she should explain the deeper meaning of the phrase. "Humans sometimes say 'I'm sorry' even when they've done nothing wrong to someone whom they feel sorry for. It's like letting the person know that you feel bad for what they had to go through, or feel bad for whatever has happened to them." It was so strange to explain something she rarely ever thought about. She didn't even know if she explained it correctly. "We're being sympathetic when we say it."

"Why are you sorry for what I went through? You hate my kind."

"Yeah, well, I may hate your species, but though I can't say you're my new best friend, I don't hate _you_, Sam," she admitted.

"That's…" he paused, licking his lips and smiling briefly, "a relief to hear. And strange. My species thrives on hate."

Unable to help it, she asked, "Do you hate me?"

Sam thought long and hard for a moment. "No, I don't believe I hate you."

Hearing that actual took a weight off her shoulders, like she wouldn't have to worry about being stabbed in the back.

Before she could continue their conversation, Sam suddenly tensed taking a step forward so that he was half in front of her. Confused by his sudden change in behavior, she was about to ask what was wrong when Mac walked into the kitchen wearing his thick coat and hat.

Ignoring Sam's imposing stance, he walked over and looked Kate in the eyes. "The doc, Norris, and I are headin' up that spot the Norwegians were spending most of their time at before everything went to hell up at Thule."

She swallowed, having a good idea as to where he was going and not sure how she felt about it.

"Is there anything you want to tell me before we leave?" Mac asked quietly, glancing at Sam. "Anything that you think we need to know, or should expect when we get there?"

Her brown eyes turned up towards Sam, whose gaze was fixed on the pilot in front of them, ready to fight if the situation called for it. Until she thought it was absolutely necessary, or until Sam decided it was all right, she'd keep what he was a secret.

In regards to what Mac would find, she said, "Once you see what's there, you'll have a pretty good idea of what we're dealing with."

Mac sighed, giving her a look of disappointment. What had he expected her to say? Telling him there was an alien spaceship out there might have left him laughing at her. It was better for him to just see it for himself and form his own answer.

"Blair wants to see you in the clinic to go over what he found out," he said, changing the subject, looking to Sam once again. "And just you, Kate."

Sam visibly tensed. "She isn't going anywhere alone."

She wasn't sure if she should be flattered by Sam's protectiveness towards her, or irritated by his apparent belief that she couldn't take care of herself.

"Take it up with Blair," Mac replied, glaring at Sam before turning and walking back out the door. "We'll be back later."

As soon as Mac was out the door, Kate walked forward and crossed her arms over her chest before turning to face Sam, fixing him with a hard stare. "What's so bad about Blair wanting to see me without you there?"

"Weren't you the one who wanted me to stay in the shower room with you because you were afraid?" he asked right back.

"Yes, but that was different."

"How?" he pressed, wanting a straight answer and she didn't want to give it.

She already felt vulnerable enough so, shaking her head, she turned on her heel and made to leave the room. But she didn't make it very far. Before she could even take three steps, Sam had walked towards her and took her by the elbow, spinning her around and placing himself between her and the door. Immediately her heart rate increased and she felt her fight or flight instinct kicking in now that her only exit was blocked. Sam wouldn't hurt her though. She kept telling herself that Sam _would not _hurt her.

"No, I want an answer, Kate. What changed between the shower room and now?" he demanded.

Biting the inside of her cheek, she tried to think of a good excuse because the truth sounded pitiful and childish. But getting the sense that Sam might very well be able to tell if she was lying, she didn't see much of a choice in being honest with him even if she didn't want to be.

"The reason I was afraid to be alone in the shower room is because… because," she tried to get it out but felt like such a child. Taking a deep breath, she just spat it out, "Because after seeing all that blood in the shower at Thule, I think I now have a phobia of being alone in a room with a shower. Going to talk to Blair in the clinic doesn't scare me, but I don't think I'll ever be comfortable taking a shower in an empty bathroom, shower room, or whatever ever again. Not after what I saw in that shower and after how you said Juliette was replicated."

Sam's eyes softened, almost appearing apologetic over his action towards getting the answer from her, and his stance relaxed, but that did little to make her feel better by how roughly he'd swung her around or how her elbow now felt a little sore.

Stepping around him, she quickly left the room.

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><p>Sam felt like hitting himself in the head but instead just took a seat in one of the chairs as Kate left the kitchen. He shouldn't have grabbed her like that, let alone have been so rough about it, but he'd done so without thinking. It was in his nature to be rough, and the concept of being gentle was lost on him. With his species, being gentle was a sign of weakness, and one of his kind could be killed for showing weakness. The fact that he hadn't been killed before crashing on Earth was a miracle as he'd been seen as weak once he'd taken a good individual as a host. Being gentle was something he still had to learn.<p>

He hadn't expected her to admit to being afraid of being along in a room with a shower. All she'd seen was blood. What was so terrifying about that? He supposed it was a human thing, and he searched Carter's memories to get a grasp on why one would feel afraid of something like that.

His thoughts went to the Vietnam War where Carter had seen a lot of death, blood, and gore, and to Sam's surprise he felt nauseous all of a sudden as though the memories were having a physical effect on him. For humans, it seemed the sight of death or hint of it in such a violent manner was enough to severely rattle someone.

It wasn't just the blood that had terrified Kate, it was the fact that someone had been violently killed in a place where one was supposed to have privacy and be relatively safe. Or at least that was what he believed the cause her fear was.

Sighing, he ran his hand over his face then through his short brown hair. Why were humans so complicated? How could they survive when mere thoughts and memories could leave them afraid? There were so many questions he had no answers for.

Grumbling to himself, he rose to his feet and walked out of the kitchen to find something to do. His instincts told him to find Kate and make sure she was all right, but he doubted she wanted him anywhere near her at the moment.

Reaching what looked like the rec room, he walked inside and found a few of the men in there. As soon as he stepped inside they stopped what they were doing briefly and looked up at him.

There was a long silence before one of the men, Palmer, rose from his chair and grabbed two pool cues. "You play?"

Carter did, and so technically, Sam did too.

Nodding, he took the cue and Palmer set up the table.

For a few minutes, they played in silence and the other men in the room relaxed a bit. But Sam wasn't relaxed. He didn't trust anybody in the room and was tense all over, ready for a fight if one presented itself. Just because the remaining First wasn't in a replication in the room did not mean one of his kind from a later generation wasn't in there.

"So," Palmer began casually. "Katie blew up one of those Things?"

Sam came to a pause at the mention of "Katie", eying Palmer suspiciously. "She did." Hitting a sold colored ball into a pocket, he added firmly, "And it's Kate."

The man shrugged lazily, wondering around the table to look for a good shot. "Nothin' wrong with nicknames, man," he said. "Way she talks, she seems like quite a handful. How do you keep 'er in line?"

"Knock it off, Palmer," Childs warned from where he and the others we're playing poker.

But Sam wanted to know what he was getting at so he asked, "What makes you think I have to keep her in line?"

Taking aim at a striped ball, Palmer failed to land it in a pocket and reach for the chalk. "She's your girl, ain't she?"

For half a second Sam didn't know what he meant, having never heard a question like that before, until he realized exactly what Palmer was implying, thanks to Carter's memories. "No, she isn't," he replied and didn't like the gleam the sparked in the man's eyes.

"Oh. Good to know," he said, a smirk on his face as he tossed the chalk to Sam.

Catching it effortlessly, Sam eyed Palmer and became aware that the other men were watching them, expecting something to happen.

Not even bothering to chalk the end of the cue stick, Sam warned, "Stay away from Kate."

Palmer chuckled, amused. "You have some claim on her I don't know about, buddy? I just wanna get to know her."

Sam doubted that was all he wanted to do and set the stick down, taking a slow step towards the man who gulped. "Stay away from Kate," he repeated, putting emphasis into each word to make sure it got through to the man.

When he reluctantly nodded, Sam abruptly left the room, finding the mere presence of Palmer angering.

Sam couldn't say for sure if Palmer was a replication or not, but that didn't matter much to him right now. Whether he was human or not, Sam wasn't letting him get near Kate.

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><p><em><strong>Reviews are welcome. In fact, they're encouraged!<strong>_


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: **_**Sorry this chapter took so long. Final exams started on Dec. 5 and I finished my last one on Dec. 8, so I didn't actually start working on this chapter until the day after I was finished with tests, but I've also been Christmas shopping, thus adding to the delay. Sorry.**_

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><p>Mac had only just arrived back with the other two less than an hour ago but Kate had yet to see him. For the brief second that they saw each other in the hallway, he said that he had to talk things over with the others before he talked to her. No doubt he wanted to tell them about the ship he most likely found to avoid too much conflict. Or at least, that's what she would do.<p>

But she hated waiting and was practically pacing in the room she and Sam were staying in. Her companion wasn't there, however, and that filled her with a twinge of concern and uncertainty. Where was he? Surely he didn't seek to avoid her after their little confrontation in the kitchen. Though the more she thought about it, the more she realized that she wanted to be alone at the moment. She didn't want to admit it, but for a second the thought had crossed her mind that he would hurt her, even after what they had been through together so far. What was worse was that, though it hadn't been serious, he had in fact hurt her.

Stopping her pacing, she rolled up the sleeve on her left arm to once again inspect the damage. Already a dark bruise was forming at her elbow, and she was sure that if Sam were there she could line up his fingers with the vaguely hand-like shape of the bruise. She was sure that he hadn't meant to hurt her when he grabbed her, and that being rough was natural to him, but it made her shudder. If he was able to bruise her like that just by grabbing her when a little irritated, how much damage could he do if he lost his temper, or worse, intentionally tried to hurt her? It wasn't something she wanted to think about, but it didn't bring up a reoccurring question.

Could she trust him?

Every minute that passed she became a little more sure that she could, but something always seemed to happen that challenged her belief that she could. She wanted to be able to trust him after all they'd been through and were still going through, yet how could she when he could hurt her at any given second and when he wasn't even human? A dangerous human she could handle, she knew what to expect, but she knew very little about what to expect from a creature like Sam.

Kate felt as though she was running in circles.

"Penny for your thoughts?"

Damn near jumping out of her skin, Kate spun around and found Mac standing in the doorway.

Calming her pounding heart, she replied, "My thoughts require more than a penny." Sighing, she asked, "So what's the verdict?"

Pushing off the door-frame and taking a seat on one of the beds, he replied, "Not everyone believes your story, but the ship I found makes it difficult not to believe you."

A twinge of relief flooded her chest.

"But," Mac added. "There are plenty of holes in your story. Plenty of stuff I think you're leaving out."

"Like what?" she asked, wanting to know what he thought.

"Like how you seem to know a hell of a lot about these Things."

"All I have are…"

"Theories," he finished for her, irritation slipping into his voice. "You're a bit too confident in those theories, Kate. So, I'm going to ask you something, and I want an honest answer. Is something keeping you from telling us the whole story?" Rising to his feet, he approached her, took her arm where the sleeve was still rolled up, and looked at the bruise. "Or is it _someone _who's keeping you from telling?"

His thoughts were going down the entirely wrong direction and she immediately shook her head. "That was an accident," she said, looking to the bruise then back to him.

"Awfully serious accident," he commented. "You have the guy's hand print on your arm."

"So I've noticed." Retracting her arm from his grip – partially from fear that he may not be human, and that his concern wasn't real – she pulled the sleeve back down. "You don't understand. He didn't mean it." Even to her own ears, she sounded like some woman who'd been abused and was protecting the man who'd hurt her. Only Sam really hadn't meant to hurt her, and was just acting on what was natural to him and his species. At least she hoped that was the answer.

"Why don't you make me understand then? What makes him bruising you okay?" Crossing his arms over his chest, he waited.

She opened her mouth to explained, but realized she couldn't do so without revealing Sam's secret. Luckily, she was saved from answering by Blair walking up to the door.

"Kate, can I talk to you for a moment?" the older man asked urgently. "Privately?"

Glancing at Mac, she walked past him. "Sure."

She and Blair had already spoken once earlier where he'd asked her what her findings had been on the creature she'd helped autopsy back at Thule. They pretty much agreed on just about everything, though she knew he was wrong about a thing or two. She liked to know what he thought though.

Reaching the clinic, Blair took a seat at his desk and said, "Pull up a chair."

She did so, keeping the chair a good distance from him. "What did you want to talk about?"

For a moment, he said nothing, just took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes. "How fast were these things able to replicate the people at Thule? You never said when we talked earlier."

That was partially because she had simply added to his findings on the autopsy of the Thing that had attacked the dogs.

"Not long," she replied. "The morning after the Things broke out of the ice block, it was clear that two people had been replicated – Juliette and someone on the chopper, Griggs. Later that night we found out that Edvard had also been replicated, and when the other creatures sharing Edvard as a host broke off and one attached to Jonas It almost immediately started melting into him or something, replicating him. As for Adam…" he paused, feeling sick to her stomach. "It didn't take long at all for him to be replicated and merged with the Thing that had replicated Edvard. It only took minutes."

A grim look fell over Blair's face. "I was afraid of that."

"What do you mean?"

"I set up a program to track the progression of the Thing's cells in the dog from Thule and our dogs," he began as a simulation of the both dog's blood cells came into view. A red dot, which she took to be as the Thing's cell, engulfed the normal cell and replicated it before repeating the process. "As you can see, the Thing's cells waste no time in replicating and imitating the normal cells."

She nodded. "Yeah, I saw the same thing when I took a blood sample from Henrik after he was killed."

"Well, that's not the worst part."

She looked at him. "Do I even want to know?"

Rather than replying, he started typing.

_Probability that one or more team members may be replicated by intruder organism_. A second later came the reply. _75%_.

"I basically guessed that," she stated.

"So did I, but what is the chance that one of these Things can get into contact with others of Their kind? If They really are aliens, who's to say that They won't find a way to contact Their friends with our radios or some other way?"

That was something she had never considered before. Was it possible that They could contact the others of They kind and draw Them to Earth?

"If even a handful of these Things reach a civilized area, the entire world population could be replicated before we know what's going on," he added grimly.

Kate knew she had to talk to Sam about this right away. He would know whether or not it was possible and if they were in more danger than they realized.

Blair watched her expectantly as she rose to her feet, bracing her hands on the chair before saying, "I… need to talk to Sam."

Ignoring Blair's questioning stare, she hurried out of the room and towards the kitchen where she'd last seen Sam only minutes earlier. But as she stepped inside, she saw only Nauls.

"Where's Sam?" she asked.

Looking over his shoulder at her, he shrugged. "Don't know. Man just left."

That was just great. Gritting her teeth, she set off looking for him. There weren't many places he could have gone, and she was fairly certain that he hadn't gone outside. But she'd been wrong before. Pausing in the hallway, she tapped her fingers against a box, thinking of where he might go. There was the rec room where some of the other men still were – no, Sam didn't seem like a very social person. The kennel was a possibility, but what reason would he have to go back there? Running her fingers through her brown hair, she decided to just start looking and hope that she got lucky.

She could rule out the clinic, kitchen, and rec room, so she started looking everywhere else – the other bedrooms and whatnot – smiling slightly to the men she passed.

One stopped and touched her arm. "Somethin' up?" Palmer asked.

"I'm just looking for Sam," she replied, taking a few steps away from him, a little uncomfortable with how close he was.

"I'll help ya out," he offered. "Two sets of eyes are better than one, right?"

She really didn't want his help, but he had a point. And she did need to find Sam and talk to him as soon as possible. So she nodded with a slight friendly smile.

"Any idea where you're friend might've gone?"

"Not really, but I was just in the clinic, and he's not in the kitchen so…"

"That only leaves everywhere else," he replied with a smirk. "C'mon, will start from one end to the next." Putting his hand on her shoulder, he led her down the hallway.

Shifting her shoulder to get his hand off, she poked her head into the rooms they passed by. "So, I hear some of you actually believe me now."

Nodding, he said, "Yeah, and I mean it isn't that surprising really that these Things are some fucked up aliens."

She tossed him a sideways glance. "Really?"

"They taught the Incas everything, didn't They?"

At that, she had to laugh slightly, and asked, "You actually believe that aliens landed on Earth and taught us how to survive?"

"Why not? There's crazier stuff out there," he replied.

She didn't doubt that.

For a few minutes, she listened to him talk about random things, and rubbed her nose slightly, smelling the pungent smoke on his breath. She hated the smell of smoke if it didn't come from a fireplace.

"I'd watch your buddy if I was you," Palmer said out of nowhere.

"Oh?" she asked, making sure he always walked a little ahead of her and never behind. "Why do you say that?"

"It's just the way he was actin' earlier. It was like you belonged to 'im or somethin'. Started snappin' at me for just talkin' about you," he answered, eyeing her closely.

She wasn't sure which was more worrisome; Sam acting like she belonged to him, or the way Palmer was looking at her. Since there was a chance that he could be lying about Sam, she decided that the look Palmer was in fact giving her right now was what sent an unpleasant shudder down her spine.

"I'm sure it's nothing," she replied, hoping to drop the subject right there, but she wasn't that lucky.

Putting his hand on her shoulder, squeezing, he said, "I'm just lookin' out for you, Katie."

Katie? That was her least favorite nickname ever since she was a little kid.

"I appreciate the concern," she began, carefully pushing his hand off her shoulder. "But there isn't anything to worry about."

"Maybe," he admitted with a sigh. "But I'll keep an eye on ya just the same. To make sure you're safe and all that."

That certainly didn't make her feel safe. In fact, it made her nervous and she reconsidered accepting his help. "You know what, I think I'll just go back to my room and wait for him to show up."

"Want me to walk ya?"

She shook her head, already backing away. "No, I'll be fine. Thanks," she replied, but Palmer followed.

"You sure?"

"Kate," Fuchs called, walking up to them. "I heard you were looking for Sam."

Breathing a sigh of relief, she asked, "You know where he is?"

He nodded. "And where he's been. Sam's had himself locked in the shower room since before Mac, Norris, and the Doc got back. Typically we don't lock that door since each shower has a curtain for privacy. In fact, it took Childs threatening to break open the door so he could shower before Sam finally came out," he explained. "Seemed a bit off though. I asked if something was wrong, but he brushed me off and practically slammed the door in my face before I could get a good look at him to see if he was all right."

Kate frowned, concerned. Had he gotten sick or something? Could his kind get sick?

Giving the man a half smile of thanks, she said, "I'll go see if he's okay. Thanks for letting me know."

Sparing a cautious glance at Palmer, she hurried off towards the room, thankful to be rid of him.

Coming up to the door of their room, Kate hesitated rather than walking right in. It was her room too and by all rights she could go in without knocking, but since she was unsure what was wrong with Sam, she knocked.

She was met only with silence and so she put her ear to the door, straining to hear if he was even in there. "Sam? You in there?"

A beat passed before she heard Sam's strained reply, "Don't come in here, Kate."

That didn't sound good. "What's going on?" she asked, growing more concerned. He sounded as though he'd run for hours without stopping, and also sounded as though he were in pain.

"Just stay out," he urged, raising his voice, startling her.

Chewing on her lip, Kate grasped the door knob, hoping he hadn't locked it, and said, "I'm coming in."

"Kate," Sam tried once again, sounding a little panicked. "Stay out."

Ever so stubborn, she refused to listen and slowly opened the unlocked door, slipping in quickly and facing the door as she closed it. When she turned to face him, she lost her breath and she involuntarily pressed her back against the door in shock.

Sam's back was to her and he was gripping the edge of the desk in front of him – fingers elongated and disfigured – hard enough to splinter the wood, but that wasn't what shocked her. It was his _spine_. The shape of it wasn't right in any sense. It was arched out, blood dripping down his bare back from where the bones protruded through his skin. And she could see his ribs shifting beneath the skin, along with everything else. His skin was almost transparent, allowing her to see every muscle clearly. It was both sickening and fascinating.

She didn't snap out of her stunned state until Sam tensed up, hissing sharply, and she saw bones shifting around in his back.

Finding her voice, she asked quietly, "What's wrong?"

Swallowing hard, he said, "You know how if you stay in one position long enough, you humans start to cramp up, or your leg or arm goes to sleep?"

"Yeah."

"For the first few days of taking a new host, every once in a while my kind has to shift back to our true form because we're unused to the body we've replicated. Gradually we lengthen the time between shifting back until we can stay in our replicated form without pain. That's why I locked myself in the shower room," he explained tightly, reluctantly, and hissed as his spine shifted again, a trickle of blood disappearing into the waistband of his jeans.

The crack that came from his shifting spine made her cringe. "Looks painful."

He nodded. "Unfortunately, shifting back to a form that we've replicated isn't as easy as shifting to our true form. It takes more time, concentration, and is more precise." Clutching the desk even tighter, he added through his teeth, "And it hurts like hell."

She had no doubt that it hurt. Hell, it made her flinch just to watch. But she was too curious to look away, no matter how disturbing it was.

Hesitantly, she took a few steps closer and raised her hand up a bit. "Do you mind?"

He glanced back at her, sweat dripping from his forehead. After a moment, he nodded in consent and look down again, concentrating on something worsening desk.

Swallowing her nerve, she walked up to him and cautiously put her hand on his deformed back, curious to see if the feel was any different from human skin, and to hopefully get over what fear she still had of him. After all, how could she trust him if part of her was still afraid of him?

The skin beneath her hand was unnaturally smooth, slick with sweat, and it was disconcerting how she could feel every single muscle and bone move into a natural human place. What was also very strange and fascinating was that his transparent skin started looking more and more natural by the second, taking on a more natural feel. And then his spine snapped with a nauseating cracking sound as it suddenly took on the natural shape of a human's spine, and Sam groaned loudly, knees buckling under the intense pain.

Grasping his arm, she helped him sit on the floor. "I gotta say, I sure don't envy your species," she commented, trying to help somehow by getting him talking and taking his mind off it all.

"Good," he replied tightly, eyes clenched shut. "You shouldn't."

As his hands returned to normal, she asked, "Would it be possible for one of your kind to contact the others wherever They are in space with our radios?" She wanted to keep him talking.

Licking his dry lips, he shook his head. "I don't think so. For that, you'd need a stronger radio. From what I've seen, the ones here aren't very strong. Why?"

"Blair's concerned that it may be possible."

"I wouldn't be worried about that," he assured her. "Like I said, there's no radio strong enough here."

That made her feel a little more at ease. Seeing him tense up again, she started talking some more, taking a seat beside him on the floor. "Mac thinks you're beating me to keep me quiet."

Opening his bloodshot blue eyes, he stared at her. "Why would he think that?" he asked.

Figuring he hadn't known his own strength, she pulled up her sleeve and showed him the bruise.

Sam cursed under his breath and hit his head back against the desk. "Shit, I'm sorry, Kate."

"It's okay," she assured him, looking at the bruise. "You didn't mean to do it."

Shaking his head, he explained, "I might not have intended to bruise you, but with a member of my species being rough is considered normal, and I forgot that you're human for a second. While I believe that you can take care of yourself, by my terms you're fragile. A mistake like that again on my part could leave you with a broken arm rather than a mere bruise. The concept of being gentle… its foreign."

She nodded, having figured as much. Still, it was a relief to hear him confirm it.

"Somehow I don't think we can tell Mac that's the reason behind the bruise," she commented. "To be on the safe side, I wouldn't get into a confrontation with him."

"For whose safety? His, or mine?" he asked, sounding mildly amused despite the pain in his voice.

"Both."

He chuckled, cringing as he did so.

They sank into silence, neither comfortable or uncomfortable with it, but tolerating it. All the while she stared at him, studying him. The scientist in her was undeniably fascinated by what was happening to him, despite his obvious pain, and wanted to understand what was going on in every sense. But just because she was a scientist who was fascinated by the sight before her did not mean that she was cold hearted or oblivious to the agonized look on his face. He might not be human, but a portion of her heart went out to him just the same, feeling sorry that he had to go through something so painful, just as she would feel sorry for a friend who was in pain.

Could she call him a friend? As she still didn't trust him completely, she wasn't so sure. She was beginning to trust him more though, his honesty giving him points. While she didn't feel comfortably saying it out loud, she could see him in some ways as a friend. But maybe voicing it was what she needed to do in order to truly convince herself that he was a friend, not an enemy, and that she could trust him.

How could her life become so confusing and chaotic in such a short few days?

* * *

><p>The pain Sam was feeling was damn near unbearable and it took every ounce of will power he had to keep from shouting and alerting the other men or from frightening Kate. Just sitting still was an incredible challenge when all he wanted to do was lash out and physically, to take his pain out on anything and everything in the room. But doing so could mean disaster for the woman beside him so he forced himself to stay calm – as calm as he could be anyways. In his opinion, the was the worst part about being what he was, and the concept of the pain that would come a few times after taking a new host had made him and other hesitate on occasion.<p>

When they fell into silence, he didn't know if he liked it or not. Listening to Kate talk and answering her questions had helped him, if only a little, take his mind off the pain as his body changed back to that of his host, Sam Carter. There was something oddly soothing about listening to her talk when she wasn't questioning his motives, angry, or upset. Listening to her was nothing like listening to the females of his own species. He actually liked listening to Kate and talking with him. But when it came to the females of his species there were times where he wanted nothing more than to mutilate Their vocal cords to prevent Them from speaking. Other males had often felt the same way as he did and Them.

The males of his kind were generally more logical and reserved, though incredible dangerous and violent. The females, however, seemed to search for a confrontation, pitting males against each other to see who would make for a better mate and produce stronger offspring whenever it was announced that They had to reproduce. And when it came to killing and replicating, the females weren't as strategic about it, quite often exposing Themselves in Their attacks.

Kate was _very _different.

She was smart and tried to avoid violence, but when she fought she didn't just lash out with little thought. She didn't try to turn people on each other, but rather tried to get everyone to work together. And she wasn't cruel or cold hearted. What she was… was different. That was the only word that he found that he could use to describe her, as vague as the word was. He enjoyed listening to her and her company, even with the agony he was feeling, and that was something he could never say about the females of his kind.

There was another crack, followed by another, and another, until little by little the pain started leaving his body. Looking at his hands, he saw that his fingers looked relatively normal and that his skin was no longer transparent.

As his eyes shifted to Kate, he caught her studying him and couldn't tell if she was fascinated or disturbed. Maybe a bit of both?

Noticing that his change in demeanor, she asked, "Is it over?"

"Just about," he answered with a tired sigh. "Nothing left to deal with but a few aches and pains."

Nodding, she said nothing for a long moment, looking at her fingers. She almost seemed nervous. Why, he could only guess and wanted to ask. But he didn't have to.

"Would you call us friends, Sam?" Kate asked slowly.

Friends? That was a term he'd never used with anybody before.

"I don't know," he replied honestly. "The concept of friendship isn't common or accepted amongst my kind. In a way, we all hate each other, and it's that hate that keeps us going. Above all else, we strive to be better than everyone else –except the Firsts, of course. That left no room for friendship." Snorting, he added, "From Carter's memories, I know how he saw friendship and what it meant to him, and I can mimic that perfectly. But I'm not sure _I_ know what being a friend means, let along how to be one."

"Well," Kate began, stretching her legs out in front of her. "Think you could learn how to be one?"

"With you?" he asked, and received a small nod. After a second, a slight smile tugged at the corner of his lip. "Yes, I believe I can."

* * *

><p><em><strong>Reviews are welcome. In fact, they're encouraged!<strong>_


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: **_**Just a heads up, don't expect an update until after Christmas. I have a lot to do and not a lot of time to get it done. **_

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><p>Despite his reminder that it wasn't safe to wander around without him, Kate left the room to give him some privacy, though he no longer really needed it. But it did give him the chance to think without be questioned. In truth, what she said about the radio made him a bit concerned.<p>

There was no chance whatsoever that one of his kind could contact the other ships via the radios at Outpost 31. That was unrealistic. But if the communications system on the ship was somehow still intact… that was something else entirely. Of course he doubted that it was still functional after it was severely damaged during the crash, and after witnessing firsthand the fire burn through most of the ship, but there was always the slightest chance that it could be repaired. And if he thought there was a chance, he knew that the remaining First knew it as well.

Shrugging on the long-sleeved shirt, he had to wonder if there was a way for him to get back of the ship and check for sure. Maybe even find out for certain if the ship could or couldn't be repaired. He wasn't a mechanic among his species and doubted he could fix any major damages, but if the fire had just scorched things, and if he could gather the parts he would need to fix it, then it was _possible _that he could get off this rock. If he talked to Kate about it, he suspected that she would see if Mac or someone could take them to ship. But he would worry her with the possibility that the ship was still functional. Why that concerned him, he didn't know.

After lacing up his boots, he sat down on the bed, running his hand through his scruffy beard and over the rest of his face. Then he sighed and buried his whole face in his hand. He was more confused than he'd ever been before. And what was a part of the problem was that _everything_ confused him. But most of all he didn't understand humans. Not even the species that created his kind had been quite so complex.

With all the emotions they had to deal with, how did they not go insane? Though he was far from human, he could feel every single emotion that Carter ever experienced throughout his life. At first the emotions hadn't been a bother to Sam, but as time progressed, especially after shifting to his true form and back, he found that he wanted to understand them. How could humans sort through it all? At any given time a human could be angry but then start laughing a minute later, and vice-versa. Despite laughing due to stress, such as surviving impossible odds, humans found humor in the strangest things, such as Kate finding him merely eating funny. His species typically didn't experience emotions that weren't negative, and if They ever did feel happiness it often went hand-in-hand with something undoubtedly evil that They did. Then again, the only real reason his kind was technically evil was because they chose hosts that were monsters of their own species to prevent unwanted traits from being passed on and that They had been created to be nothing more than monsters.

Sam couldn't help but wonder how things would be different if he had taken someone else for a host rather than the master's son. Along with choosing not to think about the future if the odds were against him, he rarely thought about "what if's" that could be applied to past events, but they did come to mind on occasion. If he was going to be honest about it, he would probably be dead by now. Whether dead before the crash or after being found by the humans, he wasn't sure, but he couldn't see his life have lasting this long. Life would have been less complicated, most likely, but not as long.

Sighing, he pinched the bridge of his nose. He wasn't accustomed to questioning things.

Shaking his head, Sam rose to his feet and walked out of the room to find Kate and the others.

He didn't like her going off alone, but he could hardly stop her. She was stubborn and had a mind of her own, something he liked about her. But in the back of his mind, he didn't think she fully understood that he couldn't sense who had been replicated by later generations of his kind, and that that was why she wandered around alone. All he could say for certain was that the First had not replicated anyone as of yet, but that hardly meant they were safe. It seemed like she would need someone replicated coming at her for it to get through to her that it wasn't safe going off alone, but he certainly didn't want that to happen.

It didn't take him long to find her, hearing her voice from down the hall as she talked to Garry.

Looking over as he came into the room, Kate half smiled. "Just in time."

"For what?"

"I was just telling Garry about how those Things attacked us at Thule, giving him a better idea of what we're dealing with," she said.

Garry nodded. "Specifically the ones that – what was it, replicated?" When Kate nodded, he continued, "The ones that replicated Edvard and Adam, then Sander."

"You were alone with the Thing that replicated Edvard and Adam," Kate reminded him. "You can tell him how It acted better than I can."

Sam stared at her, briefly wondering what she was asking. He couldn't be completely honest about how It acted without giving himself away.

Rubbing the back of his neck, choosing his words carefully, Sam said, "Well, It was fast, that's for sure. Only thing that slowed It down were the narrow hallways and It's bulky size. And It was smart. When I ran into the kitchen, the ideal place for him to hide would have been the stock room, but instead I hid behind a shelf, figuring I might be able to get by It if It went into the stock room. But instead of going that way, It kind of hesitated, like It was thinking something over, and started coming for the shelves."

"So They don't always go for the obvious?" Garry summed up.

Sam nodded. "It was able to realize the stock room might be too obvious" He was more partial to the thought that It had been able to smell him and therefore knew where he was, but what he said wasn't wrong either.

"And when I was in the Ship with the Thing that had replicated Sander," Kate began. "It backed off for a minute to the point where I felt safe enough to make a move for the grenade that I dropped. As soon I as got close to it, the Thing attacked me. They aren't animals. They can plan and think just like you and me."

"You guys talking about those Things?" asked Windows, stepping into the room.

Garry nodded. "I thought you were helping Bennings move those Things into the storeroom?"

"Already did. We need the keys to lock up." Sighing, he added, "I still say we should just fry them."

"I already did," Kate pointed out. "At least the one from Thule."

"Yeah, but that one especially gives me the creeps."

"Why did you move Them?" Sam asked abruptly, looking at Windows.

He just shrugged. "Blair wanted Them out of the lab. Wouldn't say why, only that he wanted Them locked up."

Kate glanced at Sam, but he was looking elsewhere, thinking.

Though he doubted it after how long Kate burned the Edvard-Thing, and how burned the other had been, he feared that Blair discovered something. That They may still be alive. The thought sent a chill down his spine. It wasn't likely, but his kind was resilient and had exceedingly high healing capabilities. Fire nearly always killed Them, but all it took was one cell surviving to heal the body or take a new host.

When Garry handed Windows the keys, the man made to leave but Sam stopped him. "Did you notice anything strange about how the bodies looked?" He hadn't gone to see the bodies yet, and honestly hadn't planned to. Now he was regretting that decision.

Walking up to the table, Windows said, "I don't know. Slimy? They looked like They'd been fried, but They still looked bloody and slimy. At least the one from Thule looked like that. The dog-Thing or whatever is more charred."

Sam put his hand to his chin, running his hand over his beard. He couldn't know for sure until he took a look for himself.

"What're you thinking?" Kate asked, watching him closely.

Not wanting to frighten her but be honest at the same time, he replied, "I'm thinking that Blair might not be telling us something."

"Like what?" Garry demanded.

"He wants those Things locked up for a reason, and I don't think it's to keep people don't mess with them."

Kate's eyes widened a fraction as she caught on. "You think They're still alive?"

"It's just a thought," he stated, more for the benefit of the others. There was no fooling her. She knew that he believed that at least one of Them was still alive.

"Before we go accusing Blair of keeping secrets," Garry started. "We should bring him in here to explain. Just with us. We don't need to worry the others if it's nothing."

"Shouldn't we tell Mac?" Kate asked looking from Sam to Garry. "Where is he anyways?"

Windows replied, "Fuchs wanted to talk to him out in the Snowcat. About Blair, actually."

Sitting forward in her chair, Kate said to Garry, "I think it's the right idea to talk to Blair first, but whether or not something's going on we need to talk to everybody else too."

Garry was silent for a moment, appearing a little nervous as he thought over what she said. "I don't want any more problems than I already have," he announced. "We talk to Blair, and keep this to ourselves. And no one tells Mac."

"Garry," Windows started.

"No," the outpost commander interrupted. "I'm in charge, not Mac."

Sam didn't see it that way, and he didn't think anybody else did either.

Looking at Kate, he saw that she was torn between listening to Garry or doing things her way. The conflict was evident on her face. But rather than try to have him do things her way, she merely sighed and nodded, accepting what he said. Why he was surprised, he wasn't sure, but he'd expected her to put up more of an argument about it.

"Well, if we're going to talk to Blair we should get it over with," Kate sighed, tucking her hair behind her ear.

Giving a quick nod, Garry looked to Windows. "Go find Blair and ask him to come here."

"What about Bennings? We still need to lock up the storeroom."

"I'll take the keys," Kate offered, rising to her feet. "Could use a walk."

Windows handed her the keys before leaving to go find Blair.

Not about to let Kate go to the storeroom alone for fear that he was right about the First – the Edvard-Thing – being alive, he followed after her, pleased when she didn't question his presence behind her. As brave and stubborn as she was, she wasn't stupid.

When they were out of earshot, she asked quietly, "If It was alive, the First I mean, wouldn't you have been able to sense It, or smell It, or whatever?"

"Not necessarily," he replied. "It never crossed my mind to check the body to see if the First was still living. And while It would have given off a unique scent as opposed to if It were dead, the smell would be fainter and harder to detect."

"That's just great," Kate mumbled. "Along with other Things running around, now there's a possibility that our old buddy is still alive."

Sam nodded. "And pissed off about the trouble we've caused."

"You're not helping."

Upon nearing the storeroom, Sam held his arm out, stopping Kate from walking ahead of him.

Giving her a look that told her to wait, he stepped into the room and looked around. It seemed quite enough, but Bennings was gone. Spotting one of the bodies on a table covered by a blanket, he walked up to it and cautiously grasped the edge of the blanket. Nothing smelled out of the ordinary, more or less. Gritting his teeth, he threw back the blanket and stared at the Edvard-Thing.

"Is It alive?" Kate asked, walking inside, her brown eyes locked on the creature on the table.

Glancing back at her briefly then back to the First, Sam sighed, shaking his head. "No, I don't think so. At least not anymore."

"What do you mean?"

"It smells dead, but that doesn't mean It wasn't alive earlier and that It didn't replicate someone already, leaving us nothing but an empty corpse." Giving the First one last look, he covered the body and checked the other. It looked and smelled dead as well.

Sighing, he led Kate out of the room. "C'mon, we need to find Bennings."

"You think It got to him?" she questioned, locking up the room.

"He was left alone with It," he replied. "I'm not taking any chances."

* * *

><p>Knowing who exactly was likely a replication didn't come as much of a relief to Kate. While she preferred knowing who wasn't who they said they were, she didn't like knowing that they'd gone down one person. Of course they didn't know for sure yet, but Sam seemed fairly positive that the First from Thule – the Edvard-Thing – was back. And if he thought It was, then she would take his word for it and trust him. She had to, and after having seen him in such a vulnerable state and talking to him more, she could say for sure that she trusted him on some level and considered him to be a friend, a strange friend, but one nonetheless.<p>

For a second, she felt like laughing. If someone had told her this would be happening the day before she left for Antarctica she would have told them that they were insane and needed help. Now her life had become a strange living nightmare.

Feeling her headache that she'd been fighting for a while starting to intensify, she said to Sam, "Hey, I'll catch up with you. I'm going to go see if Copper can give me anything for my head."

Reluctantly, he nodded. "Watch yourself, Kate."

"I will," she assured him with a half-smile before turning to go find the doctor, feeling as though she had to keep one eye behind her the whole time.

Maybe she should have asked Sam to go with her…

Sighing, she simply picked up the pace towards the clinic, refusing to turn back and go running to him. The sooner she got some medicine for her head the sooner she could get back to Sam and the others.

Coming to the clinic, she walked inside and frowned when she noticed that Copper wasn't there, nor was Blair. She'd just assumed that Copper would be in the clinic, but no one was hurt and it was late so there wasn't really a reason for him to be in there. As for Blair, she thought that he'd still be doing some research, but there was always the chance that he was in the lab instead. She wasn't too sure if she preferred being alone in there or not. On the one hand she didn't have to worry about Copper or Blair not being human, but on the other she felt as though she had to keep looking over her shoulder at the doorway.

Though she didn't want to go digging around, much less stay in the clinic by herself any longer than she had to, the throbbing in her head begged her to find some medicine so she took to searching through drawers and cabinets for something that would help.

At last she came upon a pill bottle in one of the cabinets., the contents of which were for headaches and minor aches and pains. Taking it out, she poured two pills into her hand then retrieved a glass that looked clean near the sink to get some water. Tossing the pills back, she downed the water before refilling it. She hadn't realized just how thirsty she was.

Leaning against the sink, she looked out the window. Visible through the neon blue lights was snow coming down lightly. If she remembered correctly, they were supposed to get a storm soon. That would complicate things. Letting out a long breath, she finished off her water and was about to rinse it out when the hairs on the back of her neck stood up, a sickening feeling settling in her stomach.

Someone was behind her.

Digging her nails into her hands, she spun around, back pressed against the sink, and she felt the color drain from her face.

"Sorry, Kate," Bennings apologized, standing in the doorway. "Didn't mean to scare you, just came to get something for my leg."

Forcing herself to remain composed, she gave him a slights smile. "It's fine."

Taking a step further into the clinic, he asked, "Where's your friend? Thought you two were attached at the hip."

"Oh, I just had to get some medicine. I've got a headache," she replied quickly, hating that her voice shook somewhat. Glancing at him then the door, she swallowed and hastily made to leave. "He's probably wondering where I went so I'll see you later."

Before she could clear the doorway, Bennings' arm shot out, blocking her way, and she quickly stepped back.

Sighing, Bennings shook his head in… disappointment? "You really made this too easy, Kate. I was hoping for more of a challenge."

Kate swore her heart was going to jump out of her chest as she watched him close the clinic door, locking it. Trying not to back herself into a corner, she got as far away from him as she could and asked, "It's you, isn't it? The Thing I burned at Thule?"

Smiling, he nodded. "You know, I believe I underestimated you," he said casually, picking up a jar and looking at it.

Kate looked at the door. If she could just get around him and to the door, she might be able to unlock it fast enough to get out. "Yeah? How so?"

Each time he moved, she moved too, slowly making her way closer to the door. She could always scream, but she didn't think that would end well for her. How could she have been so stupid and go off alone when she knew that something was wrong?

"Well, I didn't expect you to burn me alive, that's for sure, let alone in Sam's defense," he replied with a less than humorous chuckle. "Your timing was perfect. _Too _perfect, perhaps. Tell me, how long did you stand in the hallway trying to decide whether or not to help him?"

Kate hesitated. She knew he – the Thing from Thule – was trying to get her to doubt herself or Sam, but she still found herself thinking back. She'd hurried down the hall after It and Sam, but stopped at the doorway to the kitchen after It walked in. So close… she had come so very close to waiting until It killed Sam, and now she couldn't help but feel a little guilty.

"That long, huh?" the asked Thing asked, reading her face before turning his attention to another gadget lying on the counter.

Rather than answer, she focused on moving to the door. She was close enough to it where if she stretched she could touch the doorknob.

"When are you going to make your move?"

She froze, staring at the Thing at other end of the room.

Turning to face her, he asked, "Did you really think I didn't notice you inching your way to the door?" Expression turning downright feral, he took a few steps closer and she saw his fingers starting to elongate. "If it makes you feel any better, I'm not going to 'replicate' you. I'm just gonna kill you."

Oh, and that sounded so much better.

Looking around desperately, her eyes landed on the fire alarm by the door. Since there was no guarantee that she would get out of the clinic with her head attached, she figured the least she could do was alert the others. Gritting her teeth, she reached for the alarm and pulled it, starting the loud blaring sound.

"Bitch!" the Bennings-Thing shouted. And then he lunged at her, fingers looking more like sharp daggers than fingers, and the rest of his body was quickly mutating as his arms flung things out of his way, one of the chairs smashing through the window.

She darted out of the way as It ran into the door, nearly breaking through it. Not missing her chance, she ran to the opposite end of the room and pulled herself up onto the sink then scrambled out the window, barely noticing the glass cutting into her hands. She would much rather take a few cuts and face the freezing cold without a jacket or gloves than be killed by that Thing. There was no way she was dying like that.

Just before she got all the way out the window, the Bennings-Thing grabbed her right ankle, Its grip unbearably tight. Then she felt a crack and couldn't keep herself from screaming. Kicking with her free foot, she desperately tried to get It to let her go as It started dragging her back through the window.

Something she did must have hurt because as he booted foot connected with It's face It let out an inhuman howl and released her.

Dropping face first into the snow, she hurried to her feet, biting back the pain in her foot, and started running back to the main entrance to the outpost. Behind her she could hear gunshots, followed by a loud crash that had her looking over her shoulder, and then forcing herself to run faster because the Thing had broken through the wall, Mac and the others close behind, he with a shot gun, Garry with his pistol.

Sam wasn't with them though.

All Mac and Garry were doing was pissing It off further, and It wanted to take It's anger out on her.

Slipping around in the snow and ice, ankle throbbing, hands and face quickly going numb, she finally saw the main door and picked up the pace when she was hit in the side and hurled into the wall. Gasping, the air having left her lungs, she looked up and saw that same tentacle that had stabbed Adam and Jameson whipping around from Its chest.

Now that she had a good look at It, she saw that It looked just as menacing as It did back in Thule. The legs were bent in an odd shape, making It appear as though It were going to jump at her any second, the arms were longer and slender with the elongated hands and fingers, complete with claws along with a third arm protruding from the abdominal region. And Its face…

Desperately she pressed back against the wall to the point where she was sure she'd become a part of it. Her teeth were chattering, her hands felt numb, along with the rest of her body, and the blood that had been dripping from the cuts on her hands was already freezing as she tried to wrap her mind around the fact that she was going to die out in the snow. It was like Thule all over again, but worse.

Hunching down, growling angrily at her, it slowly approached, knowing that It had her trapped. But when It finally lunged at her, a shape hurled itself at It, knocking It to the ground a few feet away.

His own arms and hands mutated beyond the natural human appearance, tendons and muscle visible through the transparent skin that was exposed, Sam grabbed the tentacle that was protruding from the Things chest, preventing It from gutting him and he fought for control.

Howling in rage, It lashed out with the third arm, slashing Sam across the face with Its claws. Momentarily stunned, Sam was thrown back into one of the gasoline barrels, barely getting back to his feet in time to defend himself against the First's attack.

In shock, Kate didn't hardly noticed when Copper and Fuchs helped to her feet, pulling her away from the fight. All she could do was stare. And then she noticed that It seemed to be purposefully allowing Sam to take a shot at It, and that Its own attacks seemed to be weaker than what she expected. Her blood then ran cold and it had nothing to do with the temperature.

It was toying with him.

Kate knew it would be suicidal to get in the middle of the fight, but how could she just stand by and watch when it was so very obvious that Sam was outmatched? She was about to ask Mac and the others to help him when…

"Shit, he's one of 'em!" Palmer shouted, backing away. "Sam's one of 'em!"

"Torch 'em!" urged Fuchs, looking at Mac who pulled out a flare.

It was then that Kate noticed that the barrel Sam had been thrown into was spilling gas into the snow, the stream mere inches from him and the First as they fought.

And Mac was going to throw that flare into the gas and burn them _both_.

Eyes widening in horror, she screamed, "No! Sam, move!"

"What the fuck are you doing?" Mac demanded. "He's one of them!"

Sam's attention shifted to her for a split second when she screamed at him before his eyes turned to the flare, and then to the gas that he and the First were damn near standing in. Without wasting a second, he broke out of Its grasp and kicked It hard in the chest, sending It sprawling into the puddle of gasoline. Not a second later the lit flare landed in the gas and the Thing was consumed in flames, screeching and wailing in agony and rage until It finally stilled. Hopefully for good this time.

Breaking free from Copper and Fuchs, ignoring their protests and Mac's pissed off stare, she ran – or more accurately, limped – over to Sam and made sure that she was in front of him, making it difficult for Mac and Garry to get a clear shot at him with their guns. Getting shot might not kill him, but still didn't want that to happen.

"Y-You okay?" she asked, voice shaking from the cold.

Nodding, breathing heavily, blood dripping down his face from the wounds, Sam locked eyes with Mac, almost daring him to try to take a shot with her in the way. Kate shuddered to think about what would happen if Mac tried.

Noticing how she was shaking, Sam grasped her arm and hauled her towards the door and into the warmth of the outpost.

To her relief, Mac and the others didn't follow. Whether it was due to shock, fear, or confusion, she didn't know and she didn't care. She was too damn cold and sore to care. One thing was for sure though. She and Sam had _a lot _to explain when the others came back inside.

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><p><em><strong>Reviews are welcome. In fact, they're encouraged!<strong>_


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: **_**I know I said that there wouldn't be an update until after Christmas but I couldn't help myself lol. It's even longer than I originally planned for it to be! So consider this my Christmas gift to everybody. **_

_**Merry Christmas!**_

_**And… I want to give a shout out to everyone who has been reviewing my story and offering up ideas. You don't know how much of a relief it is to hear how much people are enjoying it, and I love getting ideas, to which I try to incorporate a few into the story if I can in some way. Thanks you very much! Seriously, I didn't plan on taking the story this far and can safely say that it's progressed the way it has because of the attention you've given it :)**_

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><p>Half dragging Kate back to the room they were staying in, Sam wasted no time in having her sit on the bed and wrapping a blanket around her shoulders. She might not have been outside very long, but it was forty bellow out and it didn't take long for her skin to feel like ice to the touch. Even he was cold, and he had a thick coat on. He kept its hood raised and his head lowered so that she wouldn't see how torn up his face was.<p>

Noticing some blood on her hands, the drops melting in the warm room, he grabbed some tissues then knelt in front of her to clean up her hands when he remembered that his own hands were far from natural at the moment.

Looking down at his arms and hands, he saw that while they were quickly returning back to a more natural human form, they were still disfigured and the skin was mildly transparent. Because he didn't have his whole body to concentrate on changing, his arms and hands were shifting back to their human form quicker with only a few aches and pains, but they weren't completely there yet.

Catching his sudden hesitation to help her, she frowned before looking down at his hands and catching on to the problem. Sighing, she held out her hands. "I'm f-freezing and I'm s-sore, Sam. I r-really don't c-care about how your h-hands look at the moment."

He had to admit that he was a bit surprised by that reaction. Sure, she'd touched his back out of curiosity when he'd been changing back to human form earlier, but other times she'd jerk away it unmistakable disgust. He wasn't going to question it though, relieved that she wasn't so disgusted by what he was as she had been when they first met.

Nodding, Sam gave her one last second to tell him to back off if she wanted to before taking her small, ice cold hand in his and carefully wiping away the blood the seeped from the small cuts on her hands. The cuts weren't that deep, much to his relief, and he didn't think she could even feel the small wounds, much less the rest of her hands. After he wiped away some of the blood, he placed a few tissues against her cut palms, closing her fingers around them before encasing both her hands between his much warmer hands and bringing them to his mouth, blowing his warm breath against them in hopes of helping her warm up faster.

His kind didn't have to worry about falling ill due to the cold. However, Kate did.

"W-What's your body t-temperature?" Kate asked, the warmth of his hands making her shiver. "You're n-not cold at all."

"About one-hundred-eight degrees on average. If we're trying to blend in and mimic our host, we can lower or elevate it to whatever is normal for that species," he replied against her hand, pulling back slightly to rub his hands against them.

There hadn't been much of a point to regulate his temperature since Kate already knew what he was; all he had to do was be careful around the others. But now that they knew as well…

"T-That's handy," she commented, her chattering starting to stop.

Sam nodded. "It is."

As he rubbed her hands, gradually feeling them start to warm, he looked down at her right foot, recalling how she'd been limping. He wanted to take the boot off and see how bad she was hurt, but he wasn't sure if she'd been cut and that the tight boot wasn't keeping her from bleeding out, if it was broken, or if she'd simple stepped on it wrong.

"What did you do to your foot?" he asked.

"_I _did nothing to it," she replied. "I was climbing out of the window when that Thing grabbed my ankle and tried to pull me back in. I felt a crack and, well, now it hurts like hell."

Sam looked up at her, impressed that she'd managed to get away.

Releasing her hands, chuckling at her look of disappointment as the warmth left, he sat back and began untying her right boot to check the damage. Even though he was trying to be gentle about it, his mutated hands, more or less normal looking now, Kate's ankle was very tender and she hissed when he started taking it off, dropping the tissues in one hand and reaching forward to clutch the shoulder of his jacket.

"Careful," she warned through her teeth as he eased it off.

"I'm trying to be careful," he insisted.

Tossing the boot to the side when it was finally off, he took off her sock and rolled up her pant leg a bit. Her ankle was already swelling and inflamed, looking more painful than she let him believe. In a few hours he was willing to bet that it would be black and blue and other colors. Not a doctor by human standards or his own species, there was nothing he could do but drag a chair over and elevate her foot.

Falling back on the bed, her arm falling over her eyes, she mumbled, "This is the _last _thing I need right now."

When Sam was sure she wasn't looking, he took off his jacket and tossed it onto his bed before sitting beside Kate on hers, raising his hand to his face. When he pulled it back, his fingers were red with blood. The First had got him good, nearly taking out his left eye, and he had four deep gashes starting at the top left side of his forehead down to his chin. The wounds would heal much faster than they would for a human, but it would still take time and he suspected that the wounds wouldn't completely disappear until tomorrow night, perhaps even the day after. If he mutated back to his true form then back, they would immediately heal, but he could take a little bit of discomfort caused by the wounds and couldn't waste time mutating. Taking one of Kate's pillows, he took off the pillowcase and pressed it to his face; he'd put one of his pillow cases on the pillow later. He just wanted to stop the bleeding and keep from making more of a mess than he already had.

Sighing, he said, "I don't think it's broken, if that makes you feel any better about it."

She snorted. "Broken or not, it hurts. I'm gonna have Copper check it out and wrap it up, maybe give me some ice."

"If he and the others haven't already condemned us," Sam commented.

Now that they knew what he was, he was just waiting for someone – mostly Mac – to come banging on the door, demanding answers, but whatever they told him, Sam suspected that he and the others wouldn't be happy until he joined the charred bodies that were stacking up. He could have avoided everything if he hadn't mutated his arms and hands and gone to Kate's aid the way he did, but rather tried to go about it 'the human way'. But he didn't believe that would have ended well on Kate's end, and decide whatever problems came from revealing himself was worth it. He just didn't want the price to be someone's life, because if it came down to it he wasn't being killed.

"I'll explain to them that you're on our side," she assured him after a moment.

"You and I both know that they've already made up their minds about me, Kate," he stated quietly. "You're fine, as long as you can prove you're human, but I'm fucked either way you look at it."

"Sam…"

"How bad did you want to kill me when you found out what I was?" he asked before she could continue.

Kate sighed. "Pretty bad."

"Exactly." Pulling back the pillow case for a second to look at it briefly before putting it back to his wounds, he added, "They aren't going to kill me without a fight though, I can promise you that."

"It won't come to that," she insisted, moving her arm to look up at him. Her eyes widened when she saw the bloody pillow case against his face and she sat up, wincing a bit. "Christ, Sam…"

"It's not that bad," he said, but she didn't buy it.

Shifting her body so that she could keep her foot somewhat propped up but half face him, she tried to take the pillow case away to see but frowned when he brushed her hands away. "If it's not that bad, why won't you let me see?"

"Because there's no reason for you to see. The wounds will be healed in a day or two," he replied uncomfortably. Why the hell did she want to see anyways? It wasn't as if he could get an infection, and stitches or bandages would be a waste of time.

"That's fine and dandy," she started, irritated. "But that doesn't change the fact that you're giving me that pillow case so I can see how bad they are for myself."

He smirked beneath the pillow case. "I am, am I?"

She nodded and replied firmly, "Yes."

If he truly wanted to fight with her, he could most definitely keep her from see, but he wasn't that pathetic, and he couldn't ignore the fact that she sounded sincerely concerned. Reluctantly, he removed the pillow and let her see.

Gasping slightly, she could only stare. "Not that bad? Are you kidding me?" Gingerly standing, hopping on her good foot, she grabbed the entire box of tissues, tossing them onto the bed, then went to the door.

"Where are you going?" Sam question, starting to stand when she raised her hand, indicating for him to stay put.

"I'm getting some water so I can wash off that blood. I'll be right back."

"Kate, its fine," he insisted, more concerned about her getting corned by the others than anything else.

Groaning, she grumbled, "Just shut up and wait here." Before he could try to stop her, she was hopping out the door and into bathroom to get some water from the sink.

Rather than going after her, he merely shook his head and waited. He didn't want a fight and was too tired to get into one with her. He wanted to sleep but didn't think he could with the worry that one of the men would come knocking and try to kill both him and Kate. Never had he had this much trouble before, not even during the war.

After waiting for a minute or two, Kate returned with two hand towels, closing the door behind her. She hobbled back to the bed and sat down, moving the chair so that she could prop it up and face him more directly. "I saw Mac and the others outside. Looks like they're getting ready to burn the bodies again."

"Smart idea," Sam commented with a slight nod. When Kate reached for his face with one of the towels – the damp one – he leaned away, staring at her.

Sighing, she sat back and asked, "Now what?"

"I'm not human, Kate," he reminded her. Waving his hand towards his face, he added, "All this will heal by tomorrow night, maybe the day after. I don't have to worry about infection or scars. There's no need to clean this up when it won't do any good or any harm. It's just a waste of time and effort."

Holding the towel in her lap, Kate looked downright shocked by what he said and irritated. Tuck her hair behind her ears, she briefly looked down at her hands before meeting his blue eyes again. "I'm guessing your species isn't big on helping each other."

"If we asked for help or gave it we were considered weak and killed off," he replied, and it didn't only apply to his kind that had reached maturity. Children were killed too as a way to sort out the weak and the strong.

"Well, let me tell you something about humans," Kate began, getting as comfortable as she could with her ankle. "Humans – most of us anyways – watch out for each other and help each other in some way or another. Sometimes it's direct, sometimes it's indirect, but most of us don't just let people suffer. That's why we have doctors, police, _friends_." Lifting the damp towel once again, she said, "So unless your blood is acidic or something, let me help you."

Sam hesitated. Under the right conditions, his blood cells could react violently such as if they were exposed to extreme heat, hazardous liquid, or something else. But as he was just cut and bleeding, there was no real harm in having her come into contact with the blood – it certainly not being acidic.

After a moments consideration, he sighed and relaxed, leaning forward so that she could clean up the blood. "What makes you think my blood would be acidic?" he asked, curious.

Smiling slight, she replied, "I once watch a movie with my dad where an alien had acid for blood. Can't help but be a little paranoid after that."

Sam was about to comment on how ridiculous an alien with acidic blood sounded when she wiped the towel down his cheek, trying to be gentle but brushing one of the wounds, and his hissed, jerking back slightly.

She grimaced. "Sorry." Taking more care in what she was doing, she asked, "I would have thought you'd have a high pain tolerance?"

"I do, but a towel rubbing against a raw gash isn't exactly pleasant either. If I get shot, I can guarantee that unless I'm in my natural form I'll double over in pain," he explained, wincing.

"So, when you're like this, you can feel pain more strongly than you would if you were to mutate back?" Gently taking his jaw in her left hand, she tilted his head slightly so she had better access to the wounds as she continued to clean up the blood.

"Yeah, that's one of the reasons why mutating to our true form is less painful than mutating back to whatever we've replicated. Less pain receptors in our actually form," he said. "It also makes us a more believable replication."

She nodded, listening intently to what he had to say but concentrating on not irritating the gashes on his face.

Sam wasn't going to admit it, but he was taken aback by how gentle she was being, not because she didn't seemed capable of being gentle or showing kindness, but because was not normally gentle in any sense. Any act that wasn't hostile, but gentle, was strange and foreign. Through Carter's memories, he saw that it wasn't uncommon for humans to be gentle towards one another if someone was hurt, both physically and emotionally. Humans as a species were incredibly social, watching out their families, friends, and anyone else they considered close. While humans had exceptions, humanity having their own monsters, his kind was considered rotten from the inside out by damn near every species They'd come across in the galaxy.

And so he sat perfectly still, allowing himself to take in and grow used to the gentleness Kate was showing him. As foreign and strange as it was, it wasn't unpleasant, despite pain from the wounds.

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><p>The smell of the burning flesh was made Mac's stomach turn, but rather than walk away he just stood there watching, making sure that the remains stayed dead, Garry having told him Sam's theory that They might not be dead yet.<p>

Sam… Mac's hands tightened around the nozzle of the flamethrower he held. There was no doubt in his mind that Sam had not been human since Thule, and that he – that Thing – was a threat to them all, especially to Kate who didn't seem to comprehend the danger she was in. Had she known Sam wasn't human all along, or had she only found out recently? In his gut, Mac was willing to bet that she'd known what he was since arriving at the U.S Outpost. But if that was the case, why hadn't she said anything? Was it because she was too afraid, had she been threatened, or because she believed he was for some reason on their side? A more chilling theory came to his mind. Was Kate one of Them?

There were too many questions that he didn't have answers for, but one thing was very clear; as long as Sam was alive, they were all in danger. Mac saw that Thing fight the one that had been Bennings, saw how dangerous he was, and hardly dared to think about what he was capable of doing to them. After seeing what that Thing in the kennel and Bennings turned into, he didn't plan on finding out.

"Where's Blair?" Garry asked.

Glancing around, Mac didn't see the biologist and figured he was still locked in his room. But with Sam walking around, who knew if he was still there and all right.

He wasn't the only one thinking this, he discovered, as Nauls asked, "You think Sam got to him?"

Mac shook his head. "I don't know."

"What are we going to do about _Sam_ anyways?" demanded Childs. "All we know, that fucker could be trying to kill Kate or turn her into one of Them, if she isn't one."

Speaking up, Copper said, "Fuchs and I saw her when we were getting the other bodies. She was carrying some towels and looked like she was heading back to the room she and Sam are sharing. I don't think she saw us, and aside for her ankle, she looked all right."

"If she isn't one of those Things yet, then what the hell is Sam waiting for?" asked Clark.

Mac didn't answer, because in all honesty he didn't know what he was waiting for. There had been plenty of opportunities for him – It – to kill or replicate her, and likely opportunities at Thule as well. But if It had meant her harm, why had she been alive when they found the two in the Snowcat? She'd been bundled up in both her coat and Sam's, who'd seemed to be trying to protect her from the cold. None of it made any sense.

Uncertain, Garry asked, "What should we do, Mac?"

At this, the pilot looked at him. Garry was the one in charge, so why ask him what to do? It had been something that he thought about on occasion, but it didn't really hit him until now that Garry might not be able to deal with all that was going on well enough to lead. He also noticed that everyone was looking at him, waiting for an answer.

Grinding his teeth, he thought for a moment before replied firmly, "Fuchs, you Windows, and the doc go look for Blair. Clark, after these Things have burned for a while, fill in the hole. Norris, Nauls, you two stay with him. The rest of you come with me." Even as he spoke, he was walking back towards the building. "We're going to have a little chat with our pal, Sam."

And no matter how that conversation ended, Mac was going to see to it that another Thing was burned. Whether or not Kate joined the bodies would depend on if she could prove that she was human.

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><p>Hearing the door to the building open more clearly than Kate did – if she even noticed at all – Sam immediately tensed and grabbed Kate's hand, stopping her from treating the wounds on his face. He'd been waiting for Mac to confront him, and by the sound of the footsteps, he wasn't alone.<p>

"What's wrong?" Kate asked, frowning when he rose to his feet and put himself between her and the door.

Before he could answer her, the door quickly opened and he came face to face with Mac and his flamethrower. With him were Garry, Childs, and Palmer. Had Mac's finger not been on the trigger of the flamethrower, and had he been alone, Sam would have snatched the weapon from his hands if only to prevent himself from being burned alive. As it was, it was difficult for him not to make a grab for it due to Kate possibly being caught in the line of fire.

"Start talking," Mac demanded tightly. "Or I'll burn you where you stand."

Rising to her feet and standing beside Sam, Kate said slowly, "Take it ease, Mac. He's not dangerous."

Mac stared at her in disbelief. "Not dangerous? Have you been keeping up with current events, Kate? Or are you one of Them too?"

"I'm human, I swear. I can prove it," she replied, taking a step forward.

Sam put out his arm, preventing her from getting too close, and noticed the glare Mac gave him at the action.

Ignoring the two's staring contest, Kate asked, "I told you that They can't replicate inorganic material such as fillings, right?" When Mac nodded, she opened her mouth wide, pulling back her cheek to show him her fillings.

Cautiously leaning forward, Mac stared at her teeth for a moment, keeping one eye on Sam as he did so before leaning back. Eying Sam, sarcasm dripped from his voice as he asked, "I take it you don't have fillings?"

In reply, he gave him a menacing smirk, taking a small amount of pleasure in seeing the man seem to shrink ever so slightly.

An uncomfortable silence filled the room, and Sam wanted nothing more than get Kate out, having a fairly good idea that things were going to start going south quickly, and not want her to get stuck in the middle of it after she'd just proved she was human. And because he didn't want her to see him killing the men in front of him if it came down to a fight. Though very different from the rest of his species, some things about Sam wouldn't change and if he was going to be killed, he was taking some of his killers with him.

At last breaking the silence, Mac said slowly, "Get over here, Kate."

The paleontologist shook her head, holding her ground beside Sam. "I'm not in any danger, Mac."

"You were at Thule, and you were just attacked by one of these Things," Mac reminded her angrily and in disbelief. "You know better than any of us what They're capable of."

"Precisely why she should be holding that flamethrower, not you," commented Sam, receiving a look that could kill from the all four men.

"_Precisely_ why she shouldn't be standing beside you," Mac retorted angrily.

"Kate," Palmer began. "The guy's dangerous. I mean, you saw 'im out there."

Opening and closing her mouth a few times, trying to find a way to explain, she finally found her voice and explained, "I agreed to work with him shortly after I found out what he was. The deal was that if he helped me kill the rest of his kind that are here and hostile, then I'd do everything in my power to help him get off Earth."

"The fuck is this? The enemy of my enemy is my friend, or some shit?" questioned Childs. "You're crazy!"

Following Childs' lead, Garry added, "He's a monster, Kate. Can't you see that?"

When Kate didn't answer right away, Sam felt himself grow nervous. There was no way to deny that he was a part of the species of the Things causing so much chaos, despite his earlier request that Kate try to place him in a category of his own. Hell, the rest of the galaxy referred to him as a monster, even after developing some morals after replicating the son of one of the masters. He accepted that he was a monster and wouldn't blame Kate for believing that as well, but each second that passed by without an answer coming from her made him more and more nervous.

An uncomfortable feeling settled in his gut, something he wasn't used to. Was she reconsidering their trust, the friendship that was steadily forming between them? What if she walked away from him and over to Mac and the others? It didn't seem likely, but the thought kept coming up in his mind, whether he wanted it to or not.

Shifting her weight, grabbing onto his arm to keep her balance due to her bad ankle, Kate spoke after what felt like an eternity. "I know how these monsters act. I've been attacked by Them left and right, I've killed a few, and I've seen people I considered friends die. These Things have scarred me for life," she bit out, her voice shaking. "I know what the monsters are, and Sam is _not _one of them, he just happens to be part of the same species as those Things. I trust him."

Sam fought to keep himself from sighing in relief as a weight was lifted from his shoulders and the feeling in his gut disappeared. Hearing her say tell someone else that she trusted him made him truly believe that she did, but hearing her say that he wasn't one of the monsters… never before had he not been considered one. He couldn't recall a single instance that had affected him as much as hearing that did, and for the first time since the confrontation started, he looked at her fully, just to make sure that she was sincere. She certainly looked serious.

Hesitating, Mac glanced at the others before he reluctantly said, "Let's move this to the rec room. You both have some explaining to do."

Breathing out a sigh of relief, Kate murmured, "Thank you, Mac."

He merely nodded, eyes locked on her once again. But despite his words, something about how he looked at her put Sam on guard. And for good reason.

As soon as Kate had hobbled forward within reach of him, expecting to leave and discuss things more fully, Mac lunged for her, grasping her arm tightly and roughly pulling her towards him.

Having not expected the move, Kate unconsciously put weight on her bad ankle. Her face contorted in pain, a cry escaping her as Mac shoved her over towards Garry and Palmer, who in turn pulled her farther away, Childs stepping in front of them.

Blood boiling, Sam's vision turned red with rage. Without thinking, he charged forward, grabbing the nozzle of the flamethrower and ripping it from Mac's hands. Before anyone could process what was going on, Sam had the pilot against the wall, his hand wrapped around his throat and holding him a good five inches off the ground. Humans needed oxygen, and suffocating was a highly unpleasant way to die. Perfect.

Childs released Kate, rushing forward to force Sam to release his friend but was met with the back of Sam's other hand hitting him square in the jaw and sending him to the floor. Palmer wisely stayed back, but Garry pulled out his gun, aiming it at his head.

"Drop him!" Garry shouted, hands trembling.

But Sam was beyond listening, focused solely on crushing Mac's throat, finding sick satisfaction in seeing the man's face changing colors, hearing him gasping, struggling. Even as he strangled him he could feel himself slowly starting to mutate from the inside – muscles tightening as they prepared to shift, bones in his back straining as they prepared to break.

"Sam!" Kate shouted, tearing herself from Palmer and quickly limping over to him, ignoring the men's protests for her to stay back. Grasping his arm tightly, she pleaded with him to let go. "He was just trying to protect me! Don't do this! Don't prove them right!"

The tightening of his grip around Mac's neck paused, and he looked down at Kate. Through his rage, he could see the concern and panic on her face as clear as day.

"You are not a monster, Sam," she insisted, tugging on his arm. "Please… prove them wrong and let him go."

Sam tore his gaze from Kate and returning it to Mac who's eyes were rolling back into his head. Just a little tighter and his neck would be crushed beyond any chance of survival…

Roaring in anger, Sam abruptly let go, allowing the man to drop to floor, coughing and gasping for air. He wouldn't make a liar out of Kate and wouldn't prove the residents of Outpost 31 right. As much as he wanted to kill Mac for hurting Kate – unintentional or not – he wouldn't, if only because Kate begged him not to.

Shaking, his anger still fresh in his veins, Sam threw one last look at Kate before he stormed off down the hall.

"Wait," Kate called, a frown in her voice. "Where are you going?"

"To get some fresh air," he shouted angrily over his shoulder, walking out into the frigid night, worried he'd do something he'd regret if he didn't cool down.

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><p>Kate couldn't help but flinch when the door slammed shut and wanted to go out and make sure he was okay, but Mac, recovering from nearly being killed, wouldn't let her, insisting that she have Copper check out her foot. The only reason she agreed to go with him was because he swore that he wouldn't go after Sam, nor would anyone else. Though she didn't trust him as far as she could throw him now, she knew she didn't have much say in the matter. That and her ankle really did hurt like hell.<p>

And so she sat in the rec room, Copper kneeling in front of her as he wrapped her ankle. To her relief, he said that it was most likely only sprained and that it would heal on its own with time. She didn't bother telling him that time wasn't something they were guaranteed.

All the while she explained what Sam was and told them word for word what he told her, leaving out what she deemed to be too personal. She told them about the Firsts, about the masters, and about the species to the full extent as she was told by Sam. There were a few questions she just didn't have answers for, but she still tried in hopes that that would at the very least give Sam a chance.

They had to.

All of them needed his help in surviving this, whether they wanted to admit it or not, but above all else she didn't want to lose someone she was growing close to. He was her friend, that much she was sure of now, and she trusted him with her life. Without him, she was absolutely positive that she'd be dead by now, or alone in the cold.

But she also had to admit that what just happened frightened her. She didn't know what to make of it, when something like her getting hurt accidentally had set him off so violently. He'd come so close to killing Mac, and if she hadn't tried to stop him in that second she was sure that he would have. Was she really that important? Of course she believed that he trusted her, and considered her a friend in his own kind of way – even if he didn't fully understand the meaning of being a friend – but it seemed a bit unlikely that he'd care about her well-being _that _much. But then couldn't the same be said about how she cared for his well-being too?

"You're walking on razor blades, trusting that Thing," Mac pointed out, pulling her from her confused thoughts as he rubbed his tender neck, voice rough and scratchy. "You know that, right?"

Sighing, she nodded. "Maybe, but _he _has earned it. If you knew him the way I do, you'd trust him too."

Mac snorted, shaking his head. "He touches a weapon, radio, or my chopper, he gets fried. Understand?"

Kate nodded relieved beyond belief that he wasn't going to kill Sam.

No one looked happy about it and voiced their concerns, but didn't really question him.

Garry, however, was pissed. "You can't make that kind of decision, MacReady."

"I just did."

"But he isn't human!" exclaimed Garry. "And you aren't in charge."

"And you are?" questioned Childs, crossing his arms.

The Outpost commander shut his mouth, lips forming a thin line as his face went red.

Groaning, Mac said, "Look, it's damn obvious that we need some help, and like it or not it sure as hell sounds like that Thing," at Kate's glare, he corrected himself. "Sam, isn't going to murder us in our sleep. We just have to wait and see."

Garry huffed. "Wait and see," he grumbled, falling into a chair. "We'll see if you're still so optimistic after It's killed us all."

Pinching the bridge of his nose, Mac walked over to Kate, leaning in close. "Don't make me regret this, Kate."

"You won't, I promise," she swore. Feeling the tension in the room revolving around her, she chewed on her lip before carefully standing, her weight on her good foot.

"You should go lay down," Copper said to her, helping her to the doorway.

"I will in a little while. I have to take care of something first," she replied, fighting a yawn.

The doctor sighed and pulled a bottle of pills from his pocket. "These'll help with the pain."

"Thanks." Taking the pills, she hurried out of the rec room, hearing the arguing start once she was halfway down the hall.

Walking into the bedroom, she was so very tempted to just get in bed and go to sleep, her body sore and exhausted. Instead, she sat down and carefully put her boot on her bandage foot, wincing as she did so. She had to go check on Sam; she wouldn't be able to sleep if she didn't, not after how he stormed out. If anything, she had to make sure he wasn't going to go after Mac again. Briefly running her hand through her hair, she gingerly got to her feet and retrieved her coat before leaving the room and making her way out into the snow.

A shiver ran through her the moment she stepped outside and looked around for Sam, praying to God that he hadn't gone too far. She wanted to get back inside, sick and tired of the cold to the point where she was considering moving out of New York and down to Florida.

Limping to the far side of the Outpost, away from where the Things had been burned, Kate found him leaning back against the wall with his hands in his pant pockets, just barely visible at the edge of the neon blue light. How he wasn't freezing was beyond her, but as she got closer she noticed that he was shaking a bit.

Though he didn't acknowledge her presence as she stood next to him, she knew full well that he'd known she was coming the moment she stepped outside.

Licking her chapped lips, she said after a moment, "I explained things to Mac. Safe to say he hates you, but he's willing to give you a chance and everyone is more or less following his lead. Considering that you almost snapped his neck, I'd say that's more than we could ask for."

Sam nodded slightly but said nothing.

"My ankle isn't broken," she tried. "Just sprained."

Again, nothing but a nod. She would have thought he'd looked relieved or something.

More than a little concerned, she tapped his arm with her knuckles, finally getting him to look at her. "You all right?"

He shrugged. "I'm fine."

"You're lying."

That got some reaction out of him and he frowned. "What makes you think I'm lying?"

"Well, for starters, you're standing out here in the dark with no coat on when it's forty bellow," she began bluntly, watching his face closely for a reaction. "And you're basically ignoring me. Since meeting you, you haven't ignored me."

Sighing, he looked out into the endless dark, conflicted on whether to talk or keep his mouth shut. "I've killed more beings than you can imagine, Kate," he said so quietly she almost didn't hear him. "I enjoyed it – the power of holding someone's life in my hands, the fear they felt as they died or were replicated. Way I saw it, if I could make someone go through all the pain my kind had to go through before the masters were eradicated, and what myself and the others went through before we reached maturity, it was a good day. I craved that feeling and sought it out."

Kate didn't know why he was telling her this and shifted uncomfortably.

Continuing, he said, "I felt it again when I was strangling Mac, though not as strongly. I wanted – no, needed – to kill him. At first it was because he grabbed you, caused you to further hurt your ankle, but then…" he trailed off, leaning his head back against the wall. "Different or not, my species nature is still a part of me. I can't change that." Chuckling without humor, he added, "Guess what I'm trying to say is that I'm shocked you don't see me as a monster."

That was what this was all about?

"You were pissed," she reasoned.

"And you saw the outcome," he countered. "If Mac, Childs, or Palmer lose their temper, someone will get yelled at, maybe a black eye. _I _get angry, someone can get killed."

Moving to stand in front of him, she looked him in the eyes. "You want me to say that you scared me back there? Fine, you did. Did I think you were going to kill him? Definitely. But you didn't."

"Kate…"

"No," she interrupted sternly. "If anything, what you did by backing off proves that you aren't a monster. In need of anger management, but not a monster."

He could keep the slight smile from tugging at the corners of his lips at the last bit of her comment. "Do they have therapy for Things?"

Kate laughed quietly. "Who knows," she joked. "There are stranger occupations out there."

Shaking his head, the mood lightened a fraction, he told her, "If he pulls that shit again, I can't promise you that I won't make him regret it."

"That's another thing," she began slowly, nervously. "Why did what he did piss you off so much? Hell, why did you bother exposing yourself to the others when I was being attack when you knew it would cause a lot of trouble?"

Sam didn't answer right away, looking at her as though the answer was obvious. "There is a reason the term 'friend' isn't used amongst my kind. We can never stop looking over our shoulder and feed off each others hate, fear, and paranoia. You are the only person who has ever shown me an ounce of kindness, let alone trust me, and you aren't even a member of my species. I'm more confused than I've ever been in my life by how humans act, how you deal with emotions, everything, but one thing that I'm not confused about and know for a fact is that you're a good person and the only person I can say that I've ever trusted," he said sincerely. Turning to face her, leaning against his should on the wall, held her eyes. "I'm getting you out of here, Kate, whatever the cost. I promise."

Kate was speechless, not expecting him to say that, and looked down at the ground, trying to come up with something to say. Biting her lip, there was only one thing she could say. "Thank you," she replied softly.

Rewarding her with a half-smile, Sam took her arm and helped her walk back into the Outpost, both more than looking forward to some much needed sleep.

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><p><em><strong>Reviews are welcome. In fact, they're encouraged! <strong>_


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N: **_**I am so sorry for the long delay! Whenever I would finish this chapter it would just sound so shitty that I would trash it and start all over again. Because of the writer's block I would just write whatever might work and would get irritated when it wouldn't so I took a break from it to clear my head if that makes sense. Also, please note that I've recently started a new job that has me working 10 or more hours a day on Fridays and the weekend, and I have a summer class Monday through Thursday so my free time to write has been diminished. Hopefully any delays will not be quite as long as this one, but I can't stay up for hours on end in the middle of the night anymore to write.**_

_**I'm also taking suggestions as to what should take place in Kate and Sam's "relationship" as they are now established as friends. As I said in previous chapters, it's going to be Kate/Sam eventually, but I'd like to hear what you think should take place between them and when in regards to the events of the movie and whatnot.**_

_**Anywho, again I apologize for the delay. This chapter isn't my best work and it's rather short but it's good enough that I thought it was time to update. More or less, I know where I'm going with the next chapter, so hopefully it won't take months for an update.**_

**Disclaimer Update: **_**I do not own **_**The Thing**_**.**_

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><p>Upon reentering the outpost, Kate immediately sat on her bed, yawning tiredly behind her hand. She looked exhausted, and Sam was too to some degree. Every muscle in his body sore and stiff, making it feel as though he'd gone through the stresses of a week without sleep rather than a day. The day itself had been overly stressful, adding to the stress they already had to deal with. But at least some tension had been relieved, more or less, when Kate came outside to talk to him about what had just transpired.<p>

He had to say that he was shocked that Mac and the others had agreed not to throw him on the chopping block just yet. He'd attacked them and damn near killed Mac. By all rights they should be gunning for him, but they weren't. Instead, Kate had somehow talked them into giving him the benefit of the doubt and allowed him to keep his head. They wouldn't have taken him out without losing a few people as well, though, as he wasn't one to go down without a fight. In fact, he was a little disappointed that they weren't going to try to kill him. It would have given him an excuse to wring Mac's neck permanently. Once all this was over – if they were still alive when it was over – Sam was sure that all bets would be off and the 'peace' between him and Mac would dissolve.

"God, I feel like I could sleep for a month," Kate sighed, running her fingers through her hair.

Sam didn't doubt it. "Get some sleep, Kate. You need it."

She leaned forward, removing her boots, shaking her head, and said, "I don't think I could sleep if I tried. Moment my eyes close, something's going to rip out my throat."

Unsure if she'd said it as a joke or was seriously concerned about being killed in her sleep, Sam didn't treat it as a joke. He knelt in front of her and helped her get the boot of her injured foot and tossed it to the side before looking up at her. "I meant what I said about getting you out of here. You're plenty safe enough to get some sleep, I' promise."

"I…" she trailed off, chewing on her lower lip slightly. Reaching forward, she squeezed his hand affectionately. "Thank you."

He shifted, not accustomed to the display of affection, but didn't shy away and said, "You've thanked me already."

"I know, but it warrants being said more than once," she replied with a shrug and half smile, and he found himself smiling back.

Hesitantly, he turned his hand over in hers and returned the gesture, running his thumb over her knuckles. "Get some sleep," he repeated, and pulled his hand away a second later, ignoring the tingling feeling on his skin and the blush on Kate's face, and turned his back to her.

Sam tossed the jacket lying on his bed onto the desk, and tried to figure out why Kate's thanks and affection mattered. Of course she was the first person to actually care and treat him like an individual and not a killer, but it was more than that. She was a good, strong willed person, and incredibly smart. It was impossible not to respect her, though sometimes he though she was more crazy than brave, and thinking of her as a friend was easy. As confused as he was about everything, he was more confused about her. It was strange, the connection he felt towards her, his desire to keep her safe even at the cost of his own safety. The mere thought of holding someone else's safety above his own seemed impossible, the ingrained instinct to survive at all costs strong in his kind, but it didn't change the fact that he'd risk himself to get her to safety.

Long before Kate heard it, Sam heard footsteps approaching from down the hall and went to the door, tense, and opened it once the individual was outside. He was surprised to find Blair standing there.

"Need something," he asked casually, noticing Kate sit up out of the corner of his eye.

Blair glanced back and forth between the two. "Yes, actually. I need to talk to you for a moment," he said to Sam, nodding down the hall.

Reluctant to leave her alone, he asked the woman behind him, "You going to be all right for a minute?"

She nodded. "Yeah, sure."

"Good," said Blair. "My office is private enough so-"

"The hallway is private enough," Sam interrupted, not about to venture too far from Kate's side.

The aging man hesitated before nodding slowly, and Sam closed the door behind him and followed him further down the hall. The scent coming off Blair told Sam that he wasn't a First, but it left the possibility for him being a lower level wide open, thus putting him in a fair amount of danger.

Blair stuffed his hands in his pockets in an effort to keep from fidgeting, but Sam could practically smell the fear on him and that led him to believe that it truly was the biologist and not a replication. They could mimic any emotion perfectly when they wanted to, but pure fear was something entirely unique. If this was in fact one of his kind, it had managed to mimic true fear.

"Mac told me that you're one of those Things," said Blair when he found his voice, managing to keep it marginally steady.

Sam nodded.

"Also said that you weren't a threat – that Kate told him you could be trusted."

"That's right," he replied, wondering what the doctor was getting at.

Snorting, Blair shook his head. "Pardon me if I think that's a load of bull."

"If I were going to kill or replicate any of you people, do you really think I would have exposed myself to save Kate?" he questioned in self-defense. "What I would have done was kill Kate to keep my true nature hidden, and I certainly wouldn't be trying to help kill the remaining members of my species. I'm helping you people."

"Helping us," the biologist repeated in dark amusement. "After what I've learned, you're kind is a blight on this planet and every other planet out there. You're helping us for your own selfish reasons."

He didn't take offense to what he said and merely shrugged as he replied, "I don't really care what you believe, Blair. The only opinion I give a damn about is Kate's."

"That's because she's the easiest for you to brainwash. There's a reason women don't come out here – they can't handle the stress and latch onto the first sign of hope and safety and source of protection they can find."

If Blair said anything like that around Kate, Sam feared for the older man's well-being, though it would be entertaining to see Kate show him just how much she needed the protection of a man. He freely expressed his desire to protect her, but not because she necessarily needed it or because he thought she was defenseless, but because he wanted to keep her safe no matter what.

"Sounds more likely that _you _can't handle the stress," Sam commented, not liking the swipe Blair took at Kate.

Blair reddened. "What I can't handle is the thought of your disease spreading. Can you assure me that none of the other Things will get out of the outpost?"

He hesitated. "No, I can't. Truth is I can only sense the presence of a First, not the others like me. For all I know, you could be nothing more than a replication."

"How do you spread the disease?"

"We're not a disease," Sam grumbled, leaning back against the wall. "We're a species that is capable of mimicking a host perfectly. If you wanted to get technically or attach us to some familiar term, you could call us shape shifters. But we are not a disease."

"Answer the question."

Sam sighed and replied, "Via two basic ways. One, we attack the chosen target and replicate them from the inside out. It's quick and crude but also painful for the host if they're alive, and we typically have to go into a minor form of hibernation to allow the processes to be accomplished correctly. And two, we replicate the host from the outside in. It's the most thorough way to go about it, but it takes quite a while. Sometimes we don't have that kind of time. Typically, we'll try to get you alone so that we won't be interrupted because we're the most vulnerable during the process."

"And more than one of you Things can inhabit a host?"

"Yeah."

"Are their more of you?" Blair asked. "In space?"

"Less than a few hundred last I checked, but it's been a while since I've been in contact with the rest of my kind so it's a good bet that there are plenty more by now. Why?"

Blair said nothing for a long moment, merely stood their staring at the wall beside Sam, the wheels turning in his head. "No reason. I have things to do." With that said, the man turned and hurried down the hall towards the kennels.

It was strange that he would go down there, but Sam figured he wanted to run some tests on the dogs or something so rather than question it he returned into the room, closing the door behind him.

In his absence, Kate had stripped down to sweats and an oversized t-shirt that had been offered to her, causing her to look a great deal more comfortable.

Looking up from where she sat on her bed, she asked, "What'd Blair want?"

"Not sure honestly," he replied, sitting on his bed to remove his boots. "First he lectured me on how I'm a 'blight on the galaxy' and how your easily brainwashed since you're a woman."

"Excuse me?" Kate snapped.

"His words, not mine. But aside from that he just wanted to know how my kind replicates others and whether or not there were others in the galaxy. After that he just walked off." Sighing, muscles stiff, he took off the long-sleeved shirt and tossed it aside, leaving his undershirt and jeans on. "Whatever he wanted, it wasn't a pleasant conversation."

"Guess not," she said on a yawn, rubbing her hands along her arms.

"Cold?"

She shrugged. "A little. Heater or not, this place will never be warm."

For a long moment Sam did nothing. Both of them were equally exhausted, and he personally believed he would sleep like the dead the moment his eyes closed, and though he couldn't say he was cold it was easy to tell that the room wasn't exactly warm by human standards. It was actually comfortable to him.

The paleontologist sighed in what sounded like disappointment as she turned off the light, and he had to wonder if she'd been expecting a specific reaction from him. Perhaps she'd thought he'd offer her the comforter from his bed, or perhaps his long-sleeved shirt to wear, he didn't know but something had been expected, was stilled expected to some degree. Even in the darkness he could see her clearly, and he watched her toss and turn quietly under the covers for a good few minutes while he remained sitting in the same position. Whenever there was a slight noise she would freeze and be as silent as a corpse before she resumed her attempts to get comfortable.

Perhaps the cold wasn't her only source of discomfort.

"_I don't think I could sleep if I tried. Moment my eyes close, something's going to rip out my throat."_

Her words repeated over and over in his head and it occurred to him that not only was she cold, she was also afraid.

Raking his fingers through his hair, he debated on what to do, not wanting to make her any more uncomfortable. But hadn't she proven that she wasn't afraid of him by now, informed him that she trusted him?

Making up his mind, Sam rose to his feet and crossed the short distance to her bed. Ignoring her questioning stare when he pulled back the sheets, he said quietly, "Move over."

She hesitated momentarily before doing so, and he climbed into the small bed with her, extending his arm for her to get comfortable.

Confusion turned to realization and after another few seconds Kate maneuvered her head onto his chest with her arm over his torso, and she sighed in contentment as she soaked up his warmth. "Thank you," she murmured tiredly.

"Anytime," he replied, his own arm going around her to hold her to him, both as a way to keep her warm as well as offer the protection she didn't ask for but he bet she silently wanted.

Being so close was both pleasant and uncomfortable.

On the one hand he enjoyed her presence and close proximity, feeling as though he could more easily protect her and that nothing could harm her without his knowing as she was in his arms, not to mention he just liking being so close to her. Something about her presence and being so close to her was soothing and calming, peaceful even. In all his life, he couldn't remember feeling at peace while near another individual, let along while holding someone. It sent a strange feeling down his spine that he couldn't name, and that made him uncomfortable for some odd reason. It was all so foreign to the point where he wasn't sure if what he was feeling was appropriate or not, if it was natural or unnatural. Not once had he been in such a position before. Of course he had been much closer to a woman before in the physical sense as the order to reproduce had been given at various times in his lifetime, but almost as soon as the act was done he and the female would go separate ways lest they decide to kill the other. All he was doing was holding Kate as she fell asleep and he felt a sense of intimacy and closeness that he'd never felt before.

Sighing, Sam decided to deal with all the confusion in the morning, needing to sleep and regain his strength. He shifted a fraction to get more comfortable and let sleep take him a short time later, oblivious to the danger brewing inside Blair down the hall as the biologist began losing his grip on his sanity.

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><p><em><strong>Reviews are welcome. In fact, they're encouraged!<strong>_

**A/N: **_**Again, I know it's short. I tried to make it more of a personal moment of sorts between Kate and Sam as well and hint to Blair starting to lose his marbles and whatnot. I'll try to make the next chapter longer! **_


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N: **_**Thanks for the great reviews! **_

_**And another thing, I have a question but as it contains possible spoilers I don't want to ask in an A/N since some of you might not want to be spoiled. So if you don't mind the possibility of being spoiled, send me a message letting me know so I can ask you the question. **_

_**Sorry if there are grammar or spelling errors. I've been studying while writing this (gotta love multitasking) so some things might have slipped past me.  
><strong>_

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><p>As the sunlight started filtering into the room, Kate began to stir and stretched. The fog of sleep remained in her head for a few minutes and confusion filtered into her when she realized that she was quite warm. Blinking in the darkness, she tilted her head up and faintly made out Sam's face in the still dark room and recalled him getting into bed with her to keep her warm.<p>

The action had surprised her to say the least having not expected him to do that, but it was incredibly welcomed and it hadn't taken her very long to fall asleep, his elevated body temperature removing every chill from her body. More than that, though, he'd made her feel safe enough to sleep. She couldn't remember ever feeling quite so safe before, which was strange considering he was incredibly dangerous. But he wasn't a danger to her as he proved time and time again. No, he was a friend who happened to be very different.

Shifting slightly, she brought her arm that was across his torso up higher on his chest so she could rest her chin on her hand while she watched him sleep.

He seemed so human, lying there asleep. It was easy to forget that he wasn't until the memories came to the front of her thoughts of what she'd seen in the past few days. Two instances rang louder than others. The first was when she walked in and saw him shifting back from his natural form to that of Sam Carter. Even though she'd known that it was Sam and that he wouldn't hurt her, the sight had made adrenaline fill her system as she recalled the Things that had replicated Juliet, Edvard, and Sander. They looked so frighteningly similar in that form that she'd hesitated before speaking for a long moment. Then she remembered exactly who was in front of her and she'd tried to get over some of her fear by going up to him and touching his back while he was changing. While she couldn't say that fear was gone, she wasn't afraid of Sam anymore. And seeing him mutate marginally to his natural form to save her from the Bennings-Thing had cemented her trust in him. Even if the others didn't see it, he was a good person.

Hardly thinking about the action, she reached up and traced her fingers down his cheek and along jaw with a whisper gentle touch, a thoughtful smile finding it's way to her lips. She couldn't help but wonder what he would look like without the beard. He'd be even more attractive, she knew that much... that line of thought made her sigh as well as feel a bit guilty. It was Carter's face the Sam was wearing, Carter's face that he was using as a host. But so help her that she thought of the man in front of her only as Sam, not as Carter anymore. She felt guilty for feeling that way, but it was also a freeing thought. Finally she could look at him without thinking of Carter right away. He'd been a good friend, but he was gone and according to Sam he would have died anyways from the wound he'd had. As terrifying as it must have been, Sam had hurried the process along rather than making the man suffer, though that might not have been his intention of replicating Carter. Still, when she saw the man in front of her, the name that came to her mind first and foremost was 'Sam', and she surprised herself by thinking of him being attractive, not just in looks but personality wise. He made her smile and laugh when he didn't try, wanted to keep her safe, was brave, and strong... he was just attractive to her inside and out.

That made her hesitate and she slowly removed her hand from his face. She found him to be attractive and she cared about him more than she had cared about anyone in a long time, maybe ever. That was both concerning and intriguing.

A rumble in her stomach made her realize that it was early in the morning and that she loved breakfast. She decided that she'd let Sam sleep while she went to go something to eat, but when she shifted to get up the hand on her hip tightened, keeping her where she was. Frowning, watching his face, she moved again and received the same reaction. She was both annoyed and flattered. Even while he was sleeping he wanted to keep her close and didn't want her to stray too far, and she wouldn't have minded too much, most likely would have liked it, if she weren't growing hungrier by the second.

Carefully, she reached for his hand and gently removed it from her hip then climbed over him to get out of bed, unable to get out on her side because the side of the bed she was on was against the wall.

Sam stirred when her warmth left the bed and she froze, hoping she hadn't woken him up. To her relief, he hadn't and merely turned onto his side with a long sigh before his breathing evened back out. Kate let out the breath that she'd been holding and quietly slipped out of her t-shirt and sweats to get dressed in her own clothes that actually fit, keeping one eye on Sam to make sure that she didn't wake him up. Slipping on her boots, biting back a wince at the discomfort in her ankle, she silently slipped out of the room to brush her teeth and take care of some other morning necessities.

At last she was on her way to the kitchen to find something to eat and could already smell coffee, her mouth watering in response. Walking in, she saw Copper pouring himself a cup of coffee. "Morning," she greeted, receiving a tired smile from the man.

"Mornin'. How'd you sleep?"

"Very well, all things considered," she replied with a warm smile while at the same time keep a fair amount of distance between herself and the doctor as she retrieved a coffee cup and poured herself some. There was still no telling if he was human or not. "So, what do you recommend for breakfast?"

Copper took a seat at the table. "There's toast, cereal, that's about it. All we have is powdered milk since the actual stuff would go bad too quickly. We need food that can stay fresh more or less."

Suddenly breakfast didn't sound so great, not being a huge fan of toast, and only liking a handful of types of cereal. What she wouldn't give for bacon and eggs. Though she didn't like toast, she figured that was as good as it was going to get so she made herself some toast with strawberry jelly.

"Have you talked to Blair lately?" she asked, finishing with the jelly and leaning against the seat.

The doctor nodded. "Earlier this morning. Kept me from seeing the dogs, why?"

"Sam talked to him last night and was a little confused about what Blair wanted," she explained, then asked, "Why wouldn't he let you see the dogs?"

"Not sure. He told me they were being quarantined and that only he could go near them 'till he said otherwise. I'm no vet, but I would've thought he'd consult me before doing something like that." He paused to drink his coffee. "Strangest thing too. One minute he was his normal self, then the next thing I know he turned on me like some rabid dog, told me to back off and not question him. Never seen him act that way before."

That was concerning. "You think he's been replicated?"

"Honestly, I doubt it. Seemed to genuinely scarred and jittery. But then again, who knows for sure?"

He had a point, and she bit into her toast before washing it down with some coffee. "I'll tell Sam to keep an eye on Blair once he wakes up. Better to be safe than sorry."

"So that's where he is," Copper realized with a nod. "Was wondering why he wasn't attached to your hip."

Kate laughed slightly, and said, "Yeah, he's still asleep. And let me tell you, he sleeps like the dead. I had to crawl over him to get out of bed and the most he did was turn onto his side."

Copper frowned at her words. "He slept in the same bed as you?"

A flush rose to her neck and cheeks, and she nodded. "I was cold and his species has a higher temperature than we do so…" she trailed off when the doctor shook his head.

"Say no more, I remember seeing how high his temperature was when we brought the two of you here." Tapping his coffee cup uncomfortably, he added, "I know you trust him, Kate, and I have to admit that he isn't what I would expect from a species like his after seeing what they're capable of, but be careful. You're playing with fire, and I don't want you to get burned."

"Copper…"

"Just promise me you'll watch yourself, please?" he interrupted.

Kate sighed, wishing that the doctor trusted Sam but she knew that was likely to never happen. "I promise," she assured him after a few seconds, and the man smiled faintly.

She spent a few more minutes in the kitchen with Copper, drinking her coffee and chatting, she set out to find Blair and see why exactly he'd quarantined the dogs.

Having been up close and personal with the Things since arriving in Antarctica, she figured she would be able to help somehow, maybe offer her opinion. After being questioned by Blair about the threat the Things posed and his concern about the radios, and Sam's summary of their conversation last night, it sounded like Blair was fairly panicked and could use an understanding ear or at least someone to vent to.

Arriving at Blair's office, she found it to be vacant and frowned, stepping inside to wait for him to return from wherever he was. She went to his desk to see if he'd left a note as to where he'd gone but found nothing but his note book. It wasn't right to look at it, she knew that, but she was curious so she sat down at the desk and flipped through the note book, wanting to have an idea of what was going through his head in regards to the Things. She didn't know what she would find, but as she came upon the most recent entries and notes she frowned and read over everything at least twice, unable to make sense of any of it. One second Blair was writing in the way a biologist would or any scientist for that matter, his notes relatively logical with solid facts and theories, and the next there would be a paragraph and psychobabble where he would rant about 'the end of days' and the 'disease' that would wipe out humanity and more things out of left field. None of it made much sense, and she grew nervous when she found mentions of Sam. Apparently Blair thought he was to blame for everything that was going on and had listed dozens upon dozens of possible methods in which he could try to kill the 'disease' as he kept calling him. It wasn't comforting in the slightest, and it only got worse when she came across an entry about the dogs…

"What are you doing?"

Kate threw the note book onto the desk as she jumped to her feet, spinning to find Blair standing in the doorway with an axe in one hand and a gun in another.

* * *

><p>Something wasn't right.<p>

Stretching, Sam found one half of the bed to be cool and vacant, and he pushed past the fog of sleep to find that Kate wasn't in bed. He frowned and sat up, but abruptly relaxed fractionally when he smelled coffee. Figuring she must have gotten up to get herself a cup and that she'd return shortly, he ran his hand down his face tiredly before getting up to dress and went into the bathroom to take care of a few necessities as well as check the wounds on his face.

The gashes were relatively healed already, now appearing more like thin cuts than gaping claw marks. The sight would undoubtedly come as a relief to Kate and perhaps make her realize that a simple wound like that wasn't dangerous to him. Then again, maybe it would. She was pretty adamant about treating him like a human. If she wanted to treat him as such she was more than welcome to so as long as she remembered that he wasn't.

Absently he looked out the opened door of the bathroom, listening for any sign that Kate was returning while he brushed his teeth. There was no sign of her yet so after finishing up in the bathroom he would go looking for her just to make sure she was all right. With all that was going on and the constant danger he didn't want her to be alone any more than she had to be. She could call him paranoid all she wanted and the others could call him obsessed or dangerous, but he knew just how his species worked. Every second she was alone she was in danger.

And the gunshot that rang out through the outpost followed by shouting confirmed it.

Senses on full alert, he quickly spat the mint toothpaste into the sink before taking off down the hallway, damn near running into Mac along the way.

The pilot stumble in his sprint, glaring at Sam as they continued running towards the sound. "Where's Kate?" he demanded, noticing that she wasn't following.

"Where do you think?"

Mac cursed under his breath and picked up the pace.

If there was trouble, no doubt Kate was somehow stuck in the middle. She was a magnet for trouble it seemed.

"Do it!" Blair shouted from inside the office that housed the radios. "Do it, or I'll shoot her, you son of a bitch! You understand me?"

Sam's blood ran cold, but before he could run into the office, all the other residents of the outpost stopped both him and Mac, warning them that Blair had a gun. As if the first gunshot hadn't made that abundantly clear seconds ago, another one aimed a few inches from Mac's head made it perfectly clear that the man meant business.

"Anybody interferes, I'll kill Kate, you understand me?" Blair warned angrily before shouting to someone in the office, "Get back to work!"

Cautiously, Sam looked inside and his fists tightened at his sides.

Windows was wielding an axe, shaking terribly as he nodded and swung at the various equipment in the room, a nasty cut on his forehead. And in the middle of all the chaos was Kate with Blair's arm around her waist and a gun to her head as he used her as a human shield. The sight was enough to make his blood boil.

Licking his lips nervously, Norris said to both Mac and Sam, "I saw him backing down the hall with Kate a minute ago and got the others. He cornered Windows and told him to smash the radios or he'd kill Kate."

"I think he took out my chopper," Mac added tightly. "It's smashed all to hell."

"Nobody's gonna talk to nobody!" Blair shouted in a rage.

"Just relax," Kate urged, voice trembling. "They can't contact the others in space, it just isn't possible."

"You think that's what I'm worried about," the biologist asked incredulously.

Concerned for both Kate as well as the security of the outpost, Mac said, "Childs, go see if he got to the tractor."

Nodding, Childs hurried off to see what else the insane man had destroyed, but Sam didn't give a damn about what Blair destroyed.

More than anything he wanted to rush in and get Kate out of harm's way before she got hurt. But there was no way he would be able to rush in and grab her before Blair would pull the trigger. It was just too risky of a move.

Needing to know at the very least if she was all right, Sam called into the office, "You hanging in there, Kate?"

"Sam… yeah, yeah, for now anyways," she replied, relief flooding her words before she hissed, Blair pressing the gun harder against her head.

"You!" the man shouted, sounding close to blowing his top. "You did all this! You brought these Things here, brought your disease!"

Ignoring what he said, Sam shouted back, "Let her go, Blair. She doesn't need to be a part of this."

"She would be in this situation if it wasn't for you!" he snapped. "It's your fault she's here!"

"Sam, don't listen to him!" Kate pleaded, hissing yet again when Blair tried to force the gun into her skull.

But Sam was listening to him, because to a certain degree it was his fault, not completely, but partially. It was enough to make him feel guilty, but his guilt was outweighed by anger and fear for Kate's safety, and it was making him lose his ability to stay composed. Already he could feel his muscles and tendons shifting beneath his skin but he tried to hold back for a few more minutes. He didn't need to make the situation worse.

A demented laugh tore through the enraged man, nearly causing both he and Kate to lose their balance. "No, don't listen to me, listen to the woman and the alien disease masquerading as a human. You guys all think I'm crazy. Well, that's fine!" When Windows ceased smashing the equipment, Blair snapped at him to keep going, momentarily aiming the gun at him.

It gave Sam an idea.

Childs came running back shortly after leaving and ducked down next to Mac, and said, "He got most of the chopper and the tractor, and he's killed the rest of the dogs."

Clark gaped at him and hurried off to see for himself, not ready to believe that his dogs were dead. Sam wasn't surprised in the slightest that Blair had killed them.

"Damn it," Copper bit out, smacking the wall. "He told me he'd quarantined the dogs and I didn't press to go see them for myself. Should have known somethin' was up when he wasn't actin' right."

They could talk about how they should have known something was wrong later, but Sam was more concerned about Kate, and so he hit Mac's arm to get his attention, earning him a heated glare. "He has it in for me, not Kate. I'll rile him up, get his attention on me, then one of you distract him while someone else runs in and grabs Kate."

"Why should we trust you?" Mac questioned tightly.

"What other choice do you have?"

Silence followed, save for the smashing and ramblings going on in the office along with Kate trying to reason with Blair. All the while Sam silently waited for Mac to make his decision. No matter what he was going to get Kate out of there, but it would be easier if he had the aid of the other men.

Cursing under his breath, Mac turned to Childs. "Go around to the map room door. Talk to Blair once you think Sam's got him distracted enough. Garry and I will rush him once his back is to us." To Norris, he said, "Get a table from the lab."

Childs, uncertain about the plan, hesitated before slinking away to the map room.

"Hope you know what you're doing, pal," the pilot warned.

Sam snorted. "Me too." Inching closer to the doorway, he asked Blair over the noise, "What good is busting the equipment going to do, Blair? You want Us to stay at the outpost, is that it? Windows could have called for help on those radios."

"Or he could have called the rest of your buddies!" Blair retorted.

"What?" Windows gaped at Blair, pausing in his demolishing. "What? – I… I'm not one of those Things!"

"Maybe you're right, maybe you are human. But maybe that's what you want us to believe. None of us can know for sure, so get back to work before I shoot _you_ and finish things up myself!" he shouted, causing the young man to jump and resuming slamming the axe into the equipment.

"But we do know how to tell who's human," Kate insisted. "They can't replicate inorganic material. If you'd just let Windows and me leave the room, I can prove to you…"

"You can't prove anything!" he snapped, giving her a rough shake. "All you have are theories!"

Sam replied, "That's all you have too, Blair. Theories." Tensing, he allowed the tendons and flesh of his neck and hands and portions of his face to mutate, causing Mac and the others to start. He raised his hand and patted the air. It was all part of the plan. Trouble was that his plan was going to hurt like hell. "You really think you can kill my kind? _You_, and insignificant, paranoid human?" he mocked with a snort of amusement, though he knew full well that he might be able to but needed to get him to the end of his rope and ready to blow. "How'd you kill the dogs? Axe, fire, bullets? You think that did the job? Or for that matter, what if you did kill them and ended all the problems already?"

"You think I'm an idiot? I killed those dogs as a precaution," he yelled, voice cracking with how loud he was shouting. "Your disease doesn't want anything to do with animals because no dog could make it a thousand miles through the cold. But humans… you want to be _us_! You and the rest of your kind get out of here, you could replicate everything on the face of the earth and nothing will be able to stop you!"

"Then why don't you end it here and now?" Sam shouted right back, his vocal cords having mutated to the point where his voice didn't sound quite right. And then to everyone's astonishment and Kate's horror, he rose to his feet and held his arms out wide as he moved to stand in the doorway.

Blair's eyes widened to the size of saucers at the sight of Sam's mutated hands and semi-mutated face. Panicked, he aimed the gun away from Kate and shot him directly in the chest twice.

The pain was instantaneous and he fell back to the floor, slamming his booted foot into the floor as he grit his teeth. Being shot wouldn't kill him, but it was excruciating to the point where he barely heard Kate's panicked cry. In the midst of the pain, his body began to react, attempting to mutate to his natural form in an effort to heal the wounds faster and he felt his spine shifting beneath his skin along with the rest of his bones and muscles.

Everything else happened rapidly. Childs drew Blair's attention towards him long enough for the others to rush in and grab Kate as they pinned him down with the table. Next thing he knew, she was at his side, grasping his arm and hauling him to his feet.

Instinctively, he snarled and shoved her away, shrinking against the wall in agony. He needed to get away from her before he lost control. While mutating back to the form of the host he'd replicated and while in his natural form he could keep a clear head, but while mutating back to his true form out of instinct rather than by choice… that was another story. His animal instincts took over in that case and he saw just about everyone as a threat. Including Kate.

"Get away from me!" he warned while he still had his voice, teeth digging into his tongue and drawing blood.

Kate didn't listen and grabbed his arm yet again, and shoved the others out of the way as she hurried him down the hall, sensing the urgency of the brewing danger. When a bone in his leg snapped, he stumbled and threw his arm around her shoulders to keep himself upright and moving, needing to get to privacy quickly.

"I've got you," Kate assured him, trying to keep him calm and postpone his mutation if only for a few seconds. "C'mon…"

He grunted a reply, unable to talk anymore. With little time to spare, they reached the bathroom and Kate pushed him inside. He hurried to the farthest corner and yanked his shirt off as best as he could without ruining it, throwing it to the side as he smashed his fist into the floor when he collapsed to his knees, barely managing to remove the rest of his clothes before he lost concentration – he didn't want to rely on the others finding him something else to wear if his were torn to shreds. It wasn't as painful as mutating back to the host's form, but it was more unpleasant. It was as though he was being dragged into a dark abyss or even drowning and he couldn't get back to the surface, couldn't grab onto the stability. Worst of all, it felt like the humanity he was growing to crave was being ripped from his chest. He would take the pain of mutating back to a host over this any day.

The door closing and locking broke through the haze that had formed in his mind, and he looked towards the sound. To his sheer horror, Kate had locked herself in the bathroom with him, trying to keep from staring at him.

No, no, no! That was not a good idea.

If he trusted his actions he would shove her out of the bathroom, but as it was he might unintentionally hurt her, or worse, kill her. If he killed her he wouldn't be able to live with himself. He'd come to care about her a great deal, more so than he cared about anyone else in all his existence, and he was still trying to understand the feelings. If she stayed, he couldn't promise he wouldn't hurt her while the mutation was taking place.

Desperately, he shook his head, wishing he could talk and yell at her to get out, that she wasn't safe.

The message of the action got through to her but she didn't leave, rather she moved to the farthest corner from him and sank to the floor. "I'm not leaving you to go through this alone." A snarl mixed with a his escaped his throat and she shrunk back a bit but stayed put. "I'm not leaving, Sam," she repeated firmly, her tone amazingly calm and reassuring. "I trust you."

He wanted to yell at her until his voice ran hoarse, but as it was he would probably do nothing but make the others think he was trying to kill her if he did. So he tried to remain silent and fought not to hurt her. If she trusted him not to, he wouldn't let her down.

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><p><em><strong>Reviews are welcome. In fact, they're encouraged!<strong>_


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N:**_** At last, the long awaited chapter 17!**_

_**I am SO sorry for the long delay. I honest to God did not intend on going this long without another update. I really don't know why it took so long :/ lack of motivation for a while I guess, mixed with some other stuff that have complicated things. Sometimes I would start writing and then would just sit back and be like "well, this is boring" and I'd go work on something else. I've got a bad habit of losing interest in things and getting terrible writers block for long periods of time. It might sound silly, but I almost have to be in an obsessed state of mind with a topic/movie/TV show/ whatever to get any writing done. If it weren't for me watching **_**The Thing **_**over and over again I probably wouldn't have gotten back to writing. Truth be told, I'm still a little stuck, and had to reread the whole story a few times just to remember where I was going with everything. I can't tell you how many times I've just sat and stared at this chapter with no idea as to what to write, let alone how many times I've rewritten it.**_

_**This version of the chapter wasn't started until about five days ago, actually. The original direction I was trying to take the chapter just never ever sounded write and I kept starting from scratch, getting ticked off with the whole story in the process. After I started getting my desire to write back, I just scrapped that original idea and opted to write this version since that wasn't working. I'm rather happy with the results this time around. **_

_**Also, I'll probably go back to the previous chapters at some point and correct some of the spelling errors. Some of the mistakes made me cringe, especially because some of them were stupid mistakes that shouldn't have been missed. For now, I'm going to concentrate on writing new chapters, but I'll let you all know when I've fixed it all.**_

_**This chapter is kind of THE stepping stone between Sam and Kate – if they can move on and accept things in this chapter, the bond they already have will be unbreakable, but if not it'll be a huge step back. At least that's how I've tried to write it.  
><strong>_

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><p>Kate didn't dare move a muscle as Sam mutated back into what she'd come to fear the most. The scene was gruesome to say the least and left her shaking, pressed back as far into the corner as she could get. She wasn't going to leave him, but that didn't mean that she wasn't scared half out of her mind by the horror taking place before her very eyes.<p>

Flesh tore, bones broke, and blood poured onto the floor as he mutated into something that made her stomach churn wildly. His spine had completely snapped, bending to form a sort of C shape as the bones broke through his skin, and the bones in his arms and legs cracked loudly as they broke, accompanied by his inhuman snarls of pain. Fingers elongating into boney talons, he clawed at the floor, tearing up the tiles with both his hands and feet. Insect-like legs sprouted from his sides, and tentacles tore through his back, whipping madly at the air. And then his throat tore open, a set of mandibles chewing through the flesh, tendons, and muscles, tentacles protruding like angry tongues from the gruesome jaws. With his head now rendered useless, the appendage fell limply to the side, still attached to the body and the eyes darting back and forth.

Unable to watch any more, Kate pulled her legs up against her chest and buried her face in her knees as hot tears forced their way through her closed eyelids, ignoring the burning pain in her ankle caused from running on it while having an adrenaline rush. Forget any curiosity she'd had, she just couldn't watch anymore. This wasn't some random alien shifting back to its original form, it wasn't one of the Things trying to kill her, this was Sam, and she couldn't stand to watch him turn into the Thing that would forever haunt her nightmares.

It was as if she were undergoing some cruel reality check.

Kate had truly been trying to place Sam in his own category, him not being human but not acting like one of the Things threatening her life, but how could she deny that he wasn't one of them when the proof that he was one was right in front of her? There had been times where she even found herself growing attracted to him despite how he wasn't human, times such as when she woke up in the same bed with him that very morning, but those thoughts were violently shoved aside by what she was witnessing and hearing. Sam was far from human, and no matter how kind he sounded or how attractive he looked wearing Sam Carter's face, this Thing in front of her was what Sam was, what he was born to be, and what she was trying to kill.

Or was it Sam?

He was dangerous, but only to his own kind and those who threatened her life or his, and he was violent, but only when defending her or himself. The only time he'd really hurt her was when he grabbed her in the kitchen and that was only because he'd forgotten that he couldn't be so rough with her as he normally would be with his own kind, and he'd felt guilty for harming her after she showed him the bruise. Then there was him getting into bed with her last night, offering her warmth as well as comfort and protection that she hadn't asked him for. More often than not, he had proven to her that he wasn't a monster and she'd come to believe that he wasn't one. The men of the US outpost couldn't see it, but Sam was a good person, a good _man_, he just happened to not be human. He had done absolutely nothing to give her a reason not to trust him, and she cared a great deal about him, more than she probably should.

It figured that the first man she cared about to this extent wasn't human, but a part of a hostile alien race.

But now she found herself wondering if she was a fool for thinking of him in such away, and felt a little guilty for seeing him as a man when he was only wearing Carter's face. She'd only just come to see him as Sam, not as Carter, but now she wasn't sure she'd be able to look at him and not see him like _this _in her mind.

Trust wasn't the issue, but everything else she believed and felt was in question.

A sudden knock on the door nearly made Kate jump through the roof, and Sam started, spinning to face the door, and she tried not to gag as his head sort of dangled off to the side as there was no use for it even though the eyes were still functioning correctly.

"Kate, you okay in there?" asked a rather worried Mac.

Sam snarled menacingly at the door, but she raised her hands and stood on shaky legs, getting Sam's attention. "Just relax, okay?"

He said nothing, unable to, but made no move to charge at her or the door.

Inching towards the door, she unlocked it and opened it just a crack. She peered through the small opening to Mac, and said with a trembling voice, "I'm fine."

"You're pale."

"I said, I'm fine," she insisted, pressing her boot against the door when he tried to come in.

Upon hearing Sam growl, Mac ground his teeth and asked, "And your _friend_? How's he?"

She hesitated. "He'll be okay in a little while."

"You sure you're safe in there with him?" he asked, concerned, unable to trust Sam even after what he just did.

"I trust him," she replied with the utmost certainty. However confused she'd become in regards to how she viewed Sam and what she felt, she knew full well that she was safest with him.

Mac sighed, unhappy with her answer. "Look, we're taking Blair out to the shed 'til we can sort all this out, or 'til we figure he's not a threat, whichever comes first. Just thought I'd let you know that we'll all be outside if you need us."

"Did you check to see if he had fillings?" she asked.

There was always the chance that the biologist was just suffering from a mental breakdown.

Mac nodded. "Remembered what you said about that and check. Didn't see anything."

Kate sighed, resting her head on the door frame before she tensed. "And you?"

"And I, what?"

"Fillings," she replied warily, hand tightening on the door knob, noticing out of the corner of her eye that Sam was inching closer, catching on to her sudden fear.

Hooking his index finger into his mouth, the pilot pulled his cheek to the side and opened wide so she could see for herself. Without a flashlight, it was difficult to tell, but she was just able to catch the light from the ceiling reflect off of one of his fillings.

Her fear faded, replaced with immense relief, and she looked over to Sam before turning her eyes to the ground, still uneasy with the sight of him in such a state, and patted the air. "He's fine," she said, and after a moment Sam backed off, hunkering back towards the wall. To Mac, she asked, "Will Blair be warm out there?"

"We've got a heater he can use. He'll be fine."

"Mac," Kate started, worrying on her lower lip. "If he's human and you lock him up out there alone, one of these Things will go after him. That's what They do – They get you alone and then they strike."

"Don't have much of a choice. We can't risk him smashin' anything else, Kate." he argued irritably, tiredly. "Forget about the radios and dogs – he's already destroyed the Snowcat, and totaled my chopper."

The woman gaped. "Any other way we can get out of here?"

"No, that chopper was the only way in or out. And unless you feel like walking to the Russian outpost, we're screwed 'til someone comes to check on us, and that won't be 'til spring. Now, I don't know about you, but I don't want to sit on my ass and wait while these Things pick us off."

"What'd you have in mind?" she asked curiously, flinching when she heard the inhuman breathing off to her back right. She had to remind herself that she was safe and that it was on Sam making the noise.

Hearing the noise as well, he hesitated, craning his head to try to get a look at what Sam had become, but only able to see some blood on the floor. Jaw muscles working tensely, he asked Kate, "Can you come out here so we can talk face to face?"

"We are talking face to face."

"I'm serious."

She flexed her fingers around the door knob and nervously clicked her tongue. She'd told Sam that she wouldn't let him go through this alone, and she didn't want to go back on her word. At the same time, however, she wanted to know just what Mac had up his sleeve. Being in the dark about his plans could potentially be dangerous to her health. What was the harm in leaving Sam for a few minutes, especially when she needed to be away from him to clear her head?

Sighing, she glanced towards Sam, keeping her eyes downcast. "I'll be back in a little bit."

If he heard her, he gave no indication and slowly started pacing about in the bathroom, the muscles visible through his transparent skin and his claws and insect-like legs scraping against the floor.

Sighing, she stepped through the doorway and shut it behind her, ensuring that Sam had some privacy.

Crossing her arms in front of her, she asked, "So?"

"I'm thinkin' we might be able to work out some test that's more concrete than just checking for fillings, 'cause I'm not so sure I'm satisfied with only checking out everyone's dental work. Gonna need your help with that."

"What do you need me to do?" she questioned, more than willing to help come up with a solid plan.

Leading her down the hall towards Blair's office, he said, "Go through his notebooks, see what you can make out. He might have figured something out. I'm getting ready to take Blair out to the shed, and after I'll send Fuchs in to help you."

"I've got a few ideas of my own on how to test for these Things," she informed him with a nod, coming to a stop outside Blair's office. "But I'll check and see if he came up with anything."

"Good. Fuchs will be by in a few." Turning, he made to leave, but something made him pause. Sighing, he turned to face her. "You sure you're okay, Kate?"

"Yes, Mac, I'm fine," she insisted with a force smile when she didn't really feel all right. "Just a little shaken, that's all."

"Have anything to do with whatever's going on with Sam?"

She said nothing, glancing away uncomfortably.

That was answer enough for Mac. "What was happening to him after he was shot, that was him mutating or something?"

"Yes."

"And I'm guessin' I don't want to see what exactly he's turned into right?" When she nodded again, he asked, "Similar to what Bennings turned into?"

A lump formed in her throat, recalling how the Bennings-Thing had attacked her in a rage for the trouble she'd caused, and how eerily similar It and Sam sort of looked. "A little similar, yeah."

Mac scrubbed his hand down his face, sighing, looking more than a little perplexed and worried. "I get that you trust him, I do, and after what he did to get you outta that mess, maybe he's not as bad as I thought, but Kate, be realistic – that _Thing_ is dangerous."

"Mac –"

"No, you're going to listen to me," he interrupted tightly, advancing on her until she had her back to the wall and her heart pounding in her chest. "Sam ain't a man, and he ain't human. He's a Thing, a fucking alien whose species seems damned intent on killing everyone here, but you can't get that through your head and are climbing into bed with _It_."

She gaped, cheeks reddening. "I… Sam knew I was cold and afraid, so he got into bed with me. It's called being considerate!"

"Oh, it's called something, but I wouldn't call it considerate."

Her eyes narrowed. "Just what are you implying, Mac."

"That you're getting a little too comfy with that Thing," he said matter-of-factly. "Palmer told me how Sam acted the other day. Palmer doesn't know when to shut his mouth, but Sam acted like he had a claim on you. I when I tried to get you away from him after he revealed him to be one of those Things? It's pretty clear that if any of us do something to you or say something about you that he doesn't approve of he's blow his top and try to kill us."

She couldn't exactly say he was wrong, Sam already having warned her that if Mac pulled the same stunt again that he might kill him, but she also recalled how Palmer had said the same to her when 'helping' her look for Sam, not liking how close the two were. "Personally, I'm more skittish of your buddy than Sam. Sam might be over protective, but that's only because he knows what to expect from his species and he doesn't want me to get hurt. I trust him more than anyone else here – even more than you."

"Uh-huh," he huffed, shaking his head and a little insulted. "You watch yourself, Kate. More than your heart can get broken around that Thing. First he bruised your arm; next he'll break your neck."

A broken heart? Where the hell had that come from?

Watching Mac walk off after saying his piece, she just stared after him until he disappeared around the corner where Blair was being held in his room.

Kate knew that she cared about Sam as a friend and found him to be attractive, the feelings being hard to figure out at the moment because of the stress and confusion, but did it appear to the men that she had some sort of… _crush_ on him? At twenty-seven, she was too old for crushes, in her mind at least. That was something children and teenagers had.

Whatever word anyone used to define it, Mac at least believed there was something going on behind the scenes with her and Sam to the extent where he was willing to bring it up.

All Kate knew was that she cared about Sam, and was concerned and intrigued by the attraction she felt towards him. By all rights, she should want to keep him at arm's length, but she really didn't, though she was forced to think about her feelings and what he was to her after witnessing his transformation into her worst nightmare.

Sighing, the confusion making her head hurt, she limped into Blair's office to find his notebooks. She'd take her mind off of Sam for a while by sifting through the biologist's notes, perhaps that would help her think more clearly. Hell, getting her mind off Sam for a while might do her some good.

Finding the notebook she'd been looking at prior to Blair confronting her, she picked it up and took a seat in the chair.

* * *

><p>Walking out into the cold while Copper and Fuchs held onto Blair, Mac led the way to the tool shed that was being converted into a sort of holding cell for the rattled man.<p>

He would have allowed him to stay inside the outpost under normal circumstances, but things were far from normal and he wasn't taking any chances. Gary was still technically in charge of Outpost 31, but had left the decision of what to do with Blair to Mac. If Gary didn't want to be in charge or couldn't take the responsibility, Mac wished he'd just come out and say so rather than claiming to be in charge but leaving the decision making to him. All the guy was doing was confusing everyone.

"What about your shack, MacReady?" Copper asked, glancing in the direction of the shack.

"I don't want him in my shack," Mac replied immediately, not about to even consider the idea. "We'll lock him in the tool shed 'til we figure this out."

Copper said nothing in return and merely helped Fuchs practically drag Blair up the steps while Gary and Childs finished boarding up the windows. Stepping inside, the two men maneuvered the old man to the table and sat him down, and Copper pulled his gloves off and removed a vial of morphine from his pocket while the biologist shrugged his right arm out of his coat.

The shed was still technically cold temperature-wise, but compared to outside it felt downright warm thanks to the small heater beside the table. Blair would be just fine for a while, or until Kate figured something out that could clear his name and prove he was human.

Sighing as Copper shot him up with morphine, Blair asked wearily, "Why am I in here?"

"For your own protection, Blair," replied the doctor, patting him on the back before rising, walking to the door. With one last glance at Mac, he and Fuchs left the two men alone.

Tossing his gloves onto the table, Mac picked up the bottle of whiskey and unscrewed the cap. "How you doin', old boy?" he asked, taking a swig.

Blair pursed his lips, shaking his head and looking rather miserable, but admitted after a beat, "I don't know who to trust."

"I know what you mean, Blair," replied Mac, putting the lid back on the bottle. "Trust's a tough thing to come by these days." Placing the bottle in front of him, Mac added. "Tell you what – why don't you just trust in the Lord?"

If there was a God, Mac was fairly certain He wasn't in the hell hole that had become Outpost 31, but he needed to give Blair _somebody _to trust if the man really was human and not a replication.

"That Thing with Kate can't be trusted," Blair insisted, looking up at Mac desperately. "It's pitting us against each other."

"That why you held Kate at gunpoint and forced Windows to demolish the radios?"

"I didn't want to hurt them, but I had to. Kate's gotten too close to that Thing, cares about It like It's a flesh and blood man when It's not. She can't see the danger we're in while It's alive," he explained in one breath, eyes pleading with Mac to believe him. "These Things want us paranoid and against each other, and that's what Sam is doing. It's turning Kate against us and is trying to lull everyone into a false sense of security while the Others pick us off."

Mac picked up his gloves and tapped them against his empty hand thoughtfully.

No matter how Kate insisted that Sam could be trusted, no matter that Blair had snapped, the biologist had a very good point. Who was to say that Sam wasn't using Kate's feelings in order to gain an asset? She was already working on trying to convince everyone that Sam was a good person and could be trusted, when there was a very real possibility that It was just acting the part of the good guy but had an ulterior motive. Did Mac really want to stand around and wait for the Thing that was Sam to show It's true colors if It was evil?

Kate would have Mac's head on a pike if he continued to insist that she couldn't trust Sam. She still wanted to believe that Sam was a he not an It, a person not an alien. Hell, she'd slept in the same bed with that Thing. There was no doubt that she trusted It wholeheartedly, but some of that trust had to have been shaken by whatever she saw in that bathroom while It mutated. Maybe he could convince her to have some common sense if he continued to push his belief that Sam was too dangerous for her to get comfortable with.

"I'm taking that into consideration," Mac said after a moment. "For now, we've gotta work with him."

Blair sighed heavily, turning his eyes downward.

Slipping his hands into his gloves, Mac waited for a few seconds before turning to the door. He and the others needed to figure out what they were going to do.

"Watch Clark."

Pausing at the doorway, the pilot turned to Blair, frowning. "What?"

"I said, watch Clark," Blair repeated slowly, seriously. "And watch him close. Do you hear me?"

Mac stared at him, recalling how much time Clark had spent with that dog, and he stormed out of the shed. Apart from Sam, somebody else in the outpost wasn't human. It could be Clark, or it could be Blair, it could be both, or it could be someone else altogether. Mac had no way of knowing for sure, and he wasn't too confident in Kate's theory about fillings. She could be wrong, and that made him nervous.

One way or another, Mac was going to find out who was human and who wasn't.

* * *

><p>Time ticked by while Kate skimmed over the notes Blair had taken, and quite honestly most of it was all psychobabble to her.<p>

Fuchs had come in to help her go through the other notebooks and had left a few minutes ago to search through Blair's room, and she was almost grateful for the privacy, not quite trusting him when he refused to let her check his mouth for fillings. Not to mention, the privacy was easier for her to work in.

The earliest of his notes regarding the Edvard/Adam-Thing and the dog-Thing were relatively sane and logical. He compared the Things to the predators and prey of Earth that could imitate one another, only these Things were far more advanced in their abilities to do so, and he went to list everything he'd learned from the dog-Thing. He would then compare his findings to what she'd told him, checking off what they agreed on and putting a line through what he thought she was wrong about.

It was all completely sane and scientific, until out of the blue it wasn't. As if some sort of switch had been flipped, the paranoia began and his writing bounced between sane and crazy, understanding and condemning. The one clear thing that she could discern from his writings was that he thought these Things were a disease and that Sam was nothing more than a Trojan horse of sorts hell bent on tearing them all apart as he brainwashed Kate, how he was just getting their attention off of him until he and the rest of his kind could strike when they were all vulnerable.

The paleontologist shook her head.

She really was the only one who didn't believe Sam was going to turn on them, but that was only because of what she'd gone through with him. Had they not have met under the circumstances in which they did when he and Jameson dragged themselves back to Thule where she noticed Sam's missing earring, they more than likely would not be as close and as trusting of each other as they were. Dire circumstances forced them to trust each other as allies, but everything in between – their conversations, helping each other, standing up for each other, and just being there for each other – had created a bond that was damn near unbreakable.

Unfortunately, seeing him transform in the bathroom was threatening to crack that bond because now Kate had to figure out if she could look at Sam and see him as the person she'd come to see him as, or if she couldn't get past the horrific sight of him mutating into his natural form. If she couldn't get past that, if she couldn't fully accept that what she'd seen was just a part of what Sam was and who he was, she wasn't sure if they could move forward with… well, with whatever was going on between them.

Looking up at the clock, she sighed. It had been roughly twenty minutes since she'd left Sam alone in the bathroom. She should go back and check on him, but she wasn't ready yet.

"How's it goin', Katie?"

Starting in her chair, Kate looked up and damn near groaned in irritation when she spotted Palmer leaning against the door-frame, watching her. That man truly made her uncomfortable, and she _hated _being called Katie.

"All right," she replied, tensing as he stepped into the room.

She hoped that he just came to get something and that he'd leave in just a second, hoped that he wasn't one of those Things or worst, the remaining First, so she kept quiet and pretended to read while she really kept an eye on him out of the corner of her eye.

Idly, the man wandered around the office, picking up a few papers to look at along the way. He didn't appear to be in any hurry to leave. On the contrary, he was steadily moving closer to her, and when she pushed her chair away from him when he neared her, he chuckled.

Put on edge, Kate closed the notebook on her hands and quickly found a pencil so she could scribble down a note for Fuchs, letting him know she'd be either in her and Sam's room or in the bathroom with Sam.

She rose to her feet, careful of her ankle, and gripped the notebook tightly. "I should go check on Sam," she commented nervously, but when she made to move around him, he side stepped in front of her, blocking her path. She tried again, but was met with the same result. "Could you move, please?"

"I been thinkin' about something that I want to run by you," he explained, unmoving. "Wanna hear it?"

She really didn't, but she figured that she wouldn't be getting around him if she didn't. "What is it?"

"Was thinkin' about how your buddy started turning when he got shot. He some freaky alien now instead of your boy-toy?"

Boy-toy?

Ignoring that little bit, she nodded. "He mutated, but he'll be back to normal in a while. Could be as good as new right now and looking for me," she replied, hoping that the threat of Sam coming to find her would be reason enough for Palmer to back up. She hoped he wouldn't call her bluff, because she didn't know if Sam was still mutated or reverting back to his human form.

Unfortunately, Palmer wasn't buying it. "He don't have to worry about you, Katie. I've gotcha," he assured her. "Don't need anyone else watching you but me."

He only succeeded in scaring her.

Backing up, her rear came into contact with the desk and her heart pounded in her chest painfully. She felt backed into a corner, and human or not, she didn't want it to be Palmer standing so close in front of her.

"How's about we use Sam's defects to help get us outta this fuck-show?" he asked, seemingly oblivious to her growing fear and discomfort. "Could have him stay all freaky, make him our personal guard dog."

That managed to pull her out of her fear induced haze and she gaped at him. "You want him to continue looking like one of those Things and not to shift back to human?"

"Why not? If he's as trustworthy as you think, we should use him, you know? I mean, he ain't human – don't gotta treat him like one," he reasoned seriously, advancing closer, forcing her to damn near sit on the desk when he nearly came chest to chest with her.

Turning her head slightly away from him, keeping her eyes on him, she answered tightly through her teeth, "I'm not going to make him do that if it's not what he wants. I refuse."

"'Cause he's become your buddy?" asked Palmer, smirking. Leaning in close, he came a hair's width from kissing her cheek. "You know, I'm much better company."

Kate had heard enough from him and damn well wasn't going to tolerate him hitting on her so bluntly, invading her personal space. Planting her hands on his chest, she gave him a hard shove, pushing him away from her whilst maneuvering towards the door, her back to it. "Come near me again, so help me I'll kill you."

He chuckled, completely amused by her reaction. "Oh, come on, Katie, don't get your panties in a bunch. I'm just playin'. Ain't nothing serious – just flirting!"

"Yeah? Well, don't, because I am serious," she snapped, backing up towards the door. "For all I know, you're one of those Things, or you're the First. I don't want to murder a human, but give me one reason to think you're not and I'll kill you, and God help you if you pull that stunt you did just now when Sam's around."

The grin fell from his face, making her gulp. "Sam ain't always gonna be there for you, Kate. Once we kill or get rid of all the other ones, there's still gonna be him. Can't let any of them survive. Not a single fucking one. Once They die, you're pal dies."

Grinding her teeth, she hissed, "Over my dead body."

Not about to willing to listen to whatever else he had to say, Kate hurried down the hall as fast as she could on her bad ankle.

* * *

><p>Grinding his teeth so hard his jaw hurt, Sam hauled himself across the bathroom floor to where he'd thrown his boxers and jeans, wanting to get them on at the very least in case he had to leave the bathroom in a hurry like last time. Unfortunately, getting to them was a greater challenge than he'd anticipated and far more painful, and he eventually gave up altogether and pressed his forehead against the cold tiles, his arms and legs working to mutate back to their human state and becoming too painful to any further attempt to get to his clothes.<p>

He was rushing to shift back to his human form, almost desperate to be in his human host's form if only to feel that touch of humanity again. When he's shifted yesterday to his natural state, it was very brief and intentional and his transformation back was nearly an hour long process, but he was trying to shift back as soon as possible, hating what he felt, and was thus causing his body an exceedingly unbearable amount of pain.

Before he took the master's son as a host and before everything changed for him, Sam would look forward to mutating back to his true form and took pleasure in the terror his appearance brought out in others, enjoyed the sense of power and invincibility and hate that surge through his veins. That was not the case now, not anymore. The need and desire to kill and replicate some other being was difficult to resist, akin to what a drug addict felt when in dire need of a high. For Sam, bloodshed, death, and violence had been his high, his reason for existing. He and the rest of his kind thrived on violence, cruelty, and hate, and it damn near made him sick to his stomach now because to a certain degree he still craved it all.

How could he ask Kate to put him in a category of his own when at the root of his being he was a violent and bloodthirsty monstrosity?

In the pit of his stomach, Sam honestly believed that Kate would have a change of heart after what she'd seen become of him. The look of horror and disgust and fear did not go unnoticed to him in the chaos that had consumed him. She might have said that she wouldn't let him go through the transformation alone, might have claimed that she trusted him, but that look spoke volumes more to him – Kate had been terrified by what took place before her eyes. He couldn't exactly blame her give how she was repeatedly attacked by the others of his kind, but that look hurt more than he wanted to admit because that fear was aimed towards him.

_He _scared her.

_He _made her look away and avoid looking at him.

A hoarse shout tore from his throat, eerily inhuman as his vocal cords had yet to reform properly though his neck was fairly normal looking again. The pain of his bones snapping and tentacles retracting back into his body was equal only to the turmoil going on in his head. He'd worked so hard to gain Kate's trust, her friendship, and it was all slipping through his fingers because the chances were slim that she could handle seeing what he truly was in full form. Knowing was one thing, but seeing was another.

If he could, he'd go back and force her out of the bathroom so she never would have seen what she had. He cared a great deal about her, felt something for her that he had no name to, and knowing that he'd likely permanently damaged whatever was going on with them was almost more painful than what he was physically feeling, and he didn't know how to process that. All his life, he was the only one that matter, no one else, but now Kate had taken the place of his selfish nature. He'd do whatever he had to do to keep her safe, even if that meant keeping her safe at arm's length now that she was scared of him.

Each and every rib began shifting beneath his skin, some cracking, others bending, and a few breaking so they could take on a more human shape, but each movement made him choke on his breath and gasp in pain. Digging his elongated, boney fingers into the tiles with enough force to crack them, he ground his teeth and clenched his eyes shut tight a sweat beaded along his body in response to the immense stress and pain he was experiencing.

Given his current state, the door opening went unnoticed by Sam and it wasn't until he felt a towel being draped over his naked lower body that he started, startled by the sudden presence of another.

"Shh, it's just me," Kate assured him gently, her trembling hand moving to his sweaty, misshaped back.

He flinched away, gritting his teeth and forcing his hands under him in a vain attempt to get away from her. She'd be the perfect victim to take all the pain out on, and doing that would without a doubt kill a part of him. Hurting her _would _kill him, he was sure of it. Not to mention his skin was fairly transparent, the muscles and veins and tendons as visible as ever. His face looked human, his body was beginning to start looking human, but he was so obviously not human with his twisted legs and elongated claw-like fingers, his back sickeningly curved, and the tentacles and insect-like legs still fractionally visible.

When she'd seen him the first time reverting back to the human form of Carter, he was very nearly done and in the final stages, only his hands, back, and skin misshapen. This was so much worse and intense – she'd seen what he really was and was seeing him become something he obviously wasn't.

Kate didn't need to witness more than she had to, if only for her own sanity. He half wanted to tell her to go find Mac and keep him company instead, but even if he really wanted to say it, he couldn't, fairly sure he was still incapable of speech at the moment.

"Don't do that, Sam," Kate snapped almost sadly, inching towards him again on her knees.

Vision blurry from the pain, he opened his eyes and inclined his head towards her, trying to convey what he felt into an expression. When she frowned in confusion, he knew he'd failed miserably. How the hell was he supposed to tell her to just stay away from him because he wasn't human if he couldn't even speak?

Cringing as the bones in his arms and fingers mutated, the tendons and muscles shifting beneath his skin, a sharp groan escaping him. His hands were like an abstract version of a human's hand, the palm fairly normal but the fingers were too long, too boney, the tips sharpened like claws, and his index and middle fingers were still melded together, making it appear as though he only had four fingers.

His hand…

Shaking almost violently, Sam reached for Kate's small hand. She made no form of protest, only looked at him in confusion. He placed his palm flat against hers, aligning their fingers as best as he could, but it was difficult seeing as how insanely different their hands were. Her hand was normal, petite, soft, and fair, but his were anything but normal by human standards.

Catching her eyes, he shook his head.

The point finally got across and she swallowed a lump in her throat. "Mac thinks I'm getting too close to you, too comfortable, and maybe he's right. I mean, you aren't human – by all rights I should be keeping my distance." He flinched, having expected her to say something like that but still not liking it, her words stinging. "And Palmer came onto me a few minutes ago. He said he'd make 'better company' and that you should stay mutated as our version of a guard dog. Make's sense to some degree – fight fire with fire, right?"

Stay mutated in his natural form? That was what she wanted? He hadn't expected that at all and was more than a little wounded by it, and the notion that Palmer had hit on her made him want to rip the other man's head from his shoulders. He'd warned him not go near Kate, and he'd done just that. But even so, was Kate really taking what Palmer suggested into consideration? Had their trust and friendship fallen so far from her seeing him turn? He wanted to believe that he was prepared for all that she had to say, but he wasn't, and he didn't like what he was hearing.

Coughing, determined to test out his voice and say _something _to her, he opened his mouth to speak.

_Crack!_

Sam couldn't bite back the shout and practically drove his forehead into the floor as his back snapped once, twice, a third time, rapidly shifting back to a human form. Under normal circumstances, he wouldn't rush it because of the intense pain, but he was, and it was unbearable.

Reacting quickly, Kate scrambled around him so she could sit with her back against the wall. Placing her hand on his shoulder, she urged him onto his side and helped him situate himself with his head on her lap as he face away from her. She found his deformed hand, flinching as his index and middle finger split apart in a bloody mess, and interlaced her fingers with his, giving him something to hold onto. Her lap certainly was more comfortable than the hard floor, and though it occurred to him that his blood on her might not be safe, he knew that his cells wouldn't react hostilely to her and thus he grasped her hand as tightly as he dared.

His heart pounded in his chest and his body spasmed in response to each break, fracture, crack, and shifting of tendons and muscle, wishing that it would just end already. The only solace he found was the comfort coming from Kate's gentle fingers sifting through his sweaty hair whilst her other hand held his tightly, anchoring him to reality.

A beat passed before she asked quietly, "Can you talk?"

Swallowing, throat painfully dry, feeling like sandpaper, he nodded. "Yeah," he said hoarsely.

She nodded mutely, taking a moment to organize her thoughts. When she finally figured out what it was she wanted to say, she said, voice quaking, "Friendship goes both ways – you watch out for me, and I'll watch out for you. If you don't want to stay mutated, tell me and I'll do everything I can to make sure the guys don't do anything to force you to turn, but you need to tell me."

Beyond relieved that she wasn't going to ask him to give up his new found desire for humanity and remain what he was deep down, he took a second to breath, dampening the rising panic he'd felt in his chest. Never had he wanted to be anything but what his kind was created to be, but after taking the master's son and Carter as a host, that had changed. All he wanted to do was keep Kate safe and explore the humanity he'd come to crave. That want had been with him for some time, but he hadn't felt certain about admitting it until now when his choice mattered most.

Hissing, tensed up when muscles moved about unnaturally beneath his skin, he said hoarsely through his teeth, "Don't want to stay like that. Not like that."

Kate breathed an audible sigh of relief, as if his request not to remain mutated had confirmed something unsaid between them. "I guess… I don't know, I guess I just needed to hear you say that after seeing all that," she said more to herself, taking a shaky breath.

And then she did something completely unexpected that made him temporarily forget about the pain if only for a second – leaning down, she gently pressed her lips to his ear, her hot breath washing over him as something wet dropped down onto his face.

Was she crying?

"Whoever or whatever you used to be doesn't matter," she insisted, lips brushing lightly against his ear. "You're Sam now, that's all that matters, okay? Not matter what anyone else says or what happens, you're _Sam_, and we're both going to get out of this."

Sam didn't know what to say to that so he said nothing, working instead to get through the pain and process what she'd said.

His assumption that she was scared of him and wanted to take a step back, to weaken their bond, was wrong. She had been scared, but she wasn't letting that fear change things between them for the worst. It was eye opening that despite what she witnessed, Kate wasn't turning her back on him and keeping him away. If anything, what had transpired had brought them immensely closer. She still trusted him, still desired to head down the path that they were going that invoked feelings in him that confused him to no end, and he was able to admit to her that he did not want to remain the Thing that he had been for so many years.

What he was wouldn't change and couldn't. The bottom line was that he was a Thing, and it was in his genes to kill and to be violently aggressive, but who he was could always change, and as long as he remained with Kate he would change for the better.

Gripping her hand tightly, Sam ground his teeth and shut his eyes against the unbearable pain, focusing on Kate's fingers in his short hair, her blunt nails gently scraping his scalp. Willing everything else away, Sam focused on Kate and road out the transformation, their bond stronger than ever.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Reviews are welcomed! In fact, they're encouraged!<strong>_

**_Just thought I'd point it out, but what _**_**I wanted Palmer to create is some strain on Kate and Sam's relationship with the men at the outpost. Human or not yet, neither Kate or Sam trust Palmer, but he is a friend of Mac and the others. Whose is Mac going to trust in this situation? **__**– Kate and Sam's claim that Palmer isn't safe, or Palmer's claim that it's just harmless flirting and a fear of Sam? Is Palmer human and just being a creep, or is he already a Thing and trying to amplify the paranoia?  
><strong>_


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